Russell Brand was yesterday baptised in the Thames as the disgraced comic turns to Christianity after allegations of rape and sexual assault. 

Brand says he now feels ‘nourished’ and ‘as though a new resource’ has been ‘switched on inside me’ following his baptism yesterday. 

The former Buddhist, 48, made no reference about the accusations currently hanging over him in the video posted onto his social media channels, but he did say he faced ‘challenges’ in his life. 

Brand announced last week he was going to be ‘taking the plunge’ as it is an ‘opportunity to leave the past behind’.

Last year a Dispatches documentary on Channel 4 exposed allegations of sexual assaults during the height of his fame, as part of an investigation with The Sunday Times and The Times.

Russell Brand says he now feels ‘nourished’ and ‘as though a new resource’ has been ‘switched on inside me’ following his baptism in the Thames

The former Buddhist, 48, made no reference in the video posted onto his social media channels about the accusations currently hanging over him

In October 2023, Brand faced serious accusations from a series of women, including rape and sexual assault when four women made allegations. The comedian has strenuously denied wrongdoing, and says he has evidence to refute allegations. 

He described being baptised as an ‘incredible profound experience’ and that ‘something occurred in the process of baptism that was incredible, overwhelming’.

Telling his followers that he felt changed and transitioned, he said: ‘Now of course even though it has been less than 24 hours in the interim period I’ve already felt like irritation: I’ve got three children, I’ve got a job, I’ve got challenges, I still live in the world. But I feel as though some new resource within me has switched on.’

The controversial comedian has retreated to his countryside Oxfordshire bolthole in recent months after being questioned by police twice in relation to allegations of rape. 

Since December he has posted a number of videos and pictures on social media in which he has discussed his relationship with Christianity. 

In his announcement last week, Brand said: ‘What’s been explained to me is, it’s an opportunity to die and be reborn. An opportunity to leave the past behind and be reborn in Christ’s name.’

He then referenced a verse from scripture, adding: ‘Like it says in Galatians: that you can live as an enlightened and awakened person’, before saying that the prospect of baptism was ‘so inviting and beautiful’.

He went on as he further explained his decision: ‘People are so cynical about the increasing interest in Christianity and the return to God, but to me, it’s obvious.

Brand took to Instagram last week in which he announced he was ‘taking the plunge’ 

Last year a Dispatches documentary on Channel 4 exposed allegations of sexual assaults during the height of his fame, as part of an investigation with The Sunday Times and The Times

The comedian has strenuously denied wrongdoing, and says he has evidence to refute allegations. He has called the claims a conspiracy by the ‘mainstream media’ 

After the claims came to light, Brand appeared on Tucker Carlson’s show last month, where he referenced the allegations he faces 

The Russell Brand Dispatches documentary on Channel 4 has been nominated for a TV BAFTA (a still from the documentary is pictured)  

‘As meaning deteriorates in the modern world, as our value systems and institutions crumble, all of us become increasingly aware that there is this eerily familiar awakening and beckoning figure that we’ve all known all of our lives, within us and around us.

‘And for me it’s very exciting.’

After the rape and sex assault claims came to light, Brand appeared on Tucker Carlson’s show, where he referenced the allegations he faces and the ongoing police and investigations several times.

Speaking on Carlson’s broadcast, Brand said: ‘I reject the allegations in the strongest possible terms. I am aware I have put myself in an extremely vulnerable position by being very, very promiscuous.’

‘Attacks like this, accused of what I consider to be the most appalling crimes, is very painful and hurtful. But there are consequences to the foolish way I lived in the past,’ he continued.

Brand described the crimes he’s accused of as ‘appalling’ before adding criticism he faces is a ‘deliberate profound attempt to shut down any dissent in an astonishingly aggressive way’.

Brand has been questioned by detectives from London’s Metropolitan Police over allegations of historical sex offences.

The force said in September it had launched an investigation into a number of allegations of non-recent sexual offences following media reports that women had accused Brand of a string of sexual assaults.

Brand has rejected what he has described as ‘very serious allegations’, saying on his social media channels he has never had non-consensual sex. There have been no charges brought in the UK.