Russell Brand issues message to Elon Musk from prison following 10-year sentencing
Warning: This article contains discussion of rape and sexual assault which some readers may find distressing.
A social media account seemingly belonging to Russell Brand has appealed to Elon Musk, thanking the world's richest man for keeping his X alive.
On November 9, Russell Brand was sentenced to 10 years and 6 months in prison after being found guilty on one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault.
The 51-year-old was found guilty of raping a 21-year-old woman at his London home in 2009, sexually assaulting a woman at a London bar in 2004, sexually assaulting a woman at the Choice FM radio studios, and sexually assaulting a woman working on a Channel 4 project in 2009.
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The shamed entertainer was further acquitted on two counts of rape and one count of attempted indecent assault.
In the aftermath of Brand's sentencing, Meta confirmed it was removing Brand's Instagram account, with his @rustyrockets X account sharing a screenshot on November 11.
The message from Meta read: "We disabled your account. You no longer have access to russellbrand."
A further explanation added: "Your account, or activity on it, doesn’t follow our Community Standards. No one can see or find your account, and you can’t use it. All your information will be permanently deleted.”
Brand's team has been told that he won't be able to request a review of the decision, although he's allowed to download information he previously shared on his Instagram account. His Instagram boasted over five million followers and had over 6,500 posts. Similarly, his Facebook had 6.2 million followers but was met with a message stating: 'We suspended your page. This is because Russell Brand goes against our Community Standards."
In an appeal to Elon Musk, Brand's X account wrote, "Thank God for @elonmusk," then told people to 'stay tuned'.
There's no further information on what we should be staying tuned for, and at the time of writing, Musk hasn't responded directly to Brand's account.
Musk previously issued a one-word response ahead of Brand's sentencing, taking to X on November 11 and simply calling it 'unjust'.
The tech mogul replied to a post that used a graphic featuring Brand's crimes alongside those of convicted rapist Sajid Mahmood Khan. Khan was handed a three-year sentence in January 2025 amid charges that included grooming a 13-year-old girl.
It's important to note that the graphic claimed Brand could face 'life' in jail, although the prosecution called for a maximum sentence of 10 to 15 years. He was ultimately given 10.5 years.
Meta defended the removal of Brand's accounts, telling UNILADTech: 'Russell Brand’s accounts have been disabled in line with our Community Standards."
Brand has specifically violated the company's Account Integrity policy, with mentions that Meta can restrict or disable accounts that "engage in off-platform activity that can lead to harm."
That policy extends to accounts owned by convicted sex offenders.
With Brand currently behind bars, it's unclear who posted on his behalf on his X account.
