Why Russell Brand’s baptism is a depressing turning point for men’s mental health

Christmas has been ruined by a Jesus impersonator. Or, to be more specific, a terrifying combination of Jesus, Judas and one of those manic TV evangelists with pathologically high levels of self-confidence. 

Because Russell Brand has found God. How convenient.  

Christmas has been ruined by a Jesus impersonator. 

Christmas is ruined because somehow the reinvention of Brand has reached me - a hater - by storming into my social feeds like a plague of fancy locusts with long hair and a vast vocabulary (the locusts are quoting Nietzsche!). His parables and Christian rants have become unavoidable. 

Above: Russell Brand, who has recently been baptised after finding God. 

As public careers go, you might assume Russell Brand crucified himself. I looked at his Wikipedia page today: the guy once played the part of Hollywood's eccentric lothario incredibly well. He remade Dudley Moore’s classic film Arthur and was accepted by comedy king Judd Apatow. However, over the last few years we’ve watched him tap dance into conspiracy theorist territory. It started in 2014 with an interview on Newsnight in which he urged young people not to vote. 

He then edged closer to the right, using his YouTube channel to engage with increasingly conservative figures whilst becoming a revolutionary man of the people and enemy of mainstream media. He had a comedy special called The Messiah Complex, and another called Re:Birth. 

It’s at this point that cancellations are supposed to occur.

Following the Channel 4 show Russell Brand: In Plain Sight, released last year, which explored allegations made against him of a series of sexual assaults, including grooming a 16-year-old girl, it appeared the bottom had fallen out of his bulgingly inappropriate bucket. And, as always happens, a bunch of people went on record to say that they were not surprised; it was an open secret on the comedy circuit.

It’s at this point that cancellations are supposed to occur. But then… he found God. How convenient. And, in September, he got fucking baptised. By Bear Grylls. In the Thames. I’m grossed out by so many elements of this story I don’t even know where to begin.

Above: Should supposed forgiveness from a divine entity mean we should also feel compassion for men who do bad things? 

Finding God fixed him, mentally, says Brand; “The truth is this, as a person that has in the past taken many, many substances and always been disappointed with their inability to deliver the kind of tranquillity and peace and even transcendence I always felt I've been looking for, something occurred in the process of baptism that was incredible and overwhelming. So, I felt changed, transitioned.”

In [Brand's] telling, we’re supposed to feel empathy and compassion for bad men if they were in mental anguish whilst doing the bad deeds.

He now speaks almost exclusively in biblical tropes. He’s a changed man. All is forgiven! With 2.7 million followers on TikTok, Russell Brand is absolutely fine. The comments under his videos are dominated by fellow Christians and well-wishers, jubilant that he’s finally achieved peace. In one of his latest TikToks, former addict Brand said he needs Jesus as much as he used to need heroin. 

Finding God is ok. Lots of people do and live remarkably virtuous lives. But in Brand’s own narrative it’s almost impossible for him to separate his accounts of addiction, of being lost and self-destructive, from the bad shit he allegedly did. He puts forward a conscious, curated portrayal of a troubled soul, and because God is going to forgive him, so must we. In his telling, we’re supposed to feel empathy and compassion for bad men if they were in mental anguish whilst doing the bad deeds.

Above: A friend of Gregg Wallace [above], who has been accused of inappropriate behaviour and sexual misconduct, has suggested that undiagnosed autism is a reason for Wallace's behaviour. 

And then there’s the neurodiversity ‘defence’. Gregg Wallace has been in the press lately, accused of inappropriate behaviour and sexual misconduct at work. Many, many women have come forward. His PR peeps have been working hard and smart, because the Daily Mail found a ‘close friend’ of the TV personality who said it was all because of autism. Wallace has never been diagnosed, you understand, but surely autism is the reason he can’t “read a room”, the close friend suggested. 

How awful to intentionally align neurodiversity with bad behaviour. Yet, how convenient. 

James Watt, the founder of Brewdog, after years of being accused of bullying and sexual harassment, including on a BBC documentary, announced his defence last year: he has ADHD and Asperger’s (a label that’s rarely used these days). But the tales of inappropriate conduct and his diagnosis became part of the same conversation and, often, the same news stories. How awful to intentionally align neurodiversity with bad behaviour. Yet, how convenient. 

Do you watch Vanderpump Rules? Jax Taylor, the reality TV show’s villain for many seasons, publicly cheated on his girlfriend, who later became his wife, who he verbally abused and humiliated on the show with uncomfortable regularity. This year, she served him with divorce papers and his popularity took a hit. During filming of the latest series of Vanderpump Rules spinoff The Valley, he checked himself into a mental health facility and announced he has bipolar disorder. His Instagram feed is now almost exclusively pensive selfies with captions like “it’s ok not to be ok”.  His comments are filled with well-wishers, jubilant that he’s achieved peace. Reputation saved. I need a shower. 

Above: Jax Taylor [second from right] of Vanderpump Rules, cheated on his girlfriend and verbally abused and humiliated her on the show, before announcing he has bipolar disorder.

If you’re thinking, 'WOW! this seems like an absolute mess', you’d be right. But it’s been happening for a while, hasn’t it? Whenever there’s a shooting in the US, the white guy responsible is almost always described as “troubled”. 

A man can have done bad things, and he can have mental health issues. But the latter doesn’t cancel out the former.

In fact, a study analysing media coverage of 219 mass shootings found that white shooters were 95% more likely to be described as "mentally ill" compared to Black shooters. And you know what’s worse? It’s been found that exposure to news stories about mass shootings has been linked to increased perceptions that individuals with mental illnesses are dangerous. What a genuinely terrible blow for mental health discourse all over the world. If you believed that people saw psychological issues as dangerous, would you talk about your own? Probably not. 

Two things can be true. A man can have done bad things, and he can have mental health issues. But the latter doesn’t cancel out the former, so why are we acting like it does? It’s the ultimate get-out-of-jail-free card. The ease with which the subject of mental health is woven into high profile misconduct cases is making the entire conversation feel farcical. A clumsy bundle of excuses that acts as the undefeatable final boss for a society trying to hold bad men to account. 

Above: Mental health issues shouldn't be used as a get-out-of-jail-free card. 

Remember when the actor Jonah Hill sent his girlfriend bundles of nasty text messages, slut shaming her and prohibiting her from posting pictures of herself surfing (she’s a surfer) on Instagram, because of his “boundaries’? It was misogyny disguised as therapy. 

This could be a disastrous turning point. If I was a man, with a brain, I’d be furious with bad men hijacking and weaponising a mental health movement that - if handled correctly - could change the world and save lives. Imagine if we adequately dealt with the challenge of male clinical depression. Instead, we’re cheapening the discourse. Humans have a tendency to ruin everything, and I worry that we're ruining one of the most important conversations of our lifetime. 

If I was a man, with a brain, I’d be furious with bad men hijacking and weaponising a mental health movement that could change the world and save lives.

The sensitivity is being lost, replaced with opportunistic exploitation and positive PR spins taken as seriously as a kid blaming their imaginary friend for getting paint on the walls and eating all the biscuits. “I didn’t touch that woman, Mr Flibbles did!” What a joke. 

Underlying mental issues, anger, insecurities, baggage and bad childhoods probably are to blame for a lot of destructive male behaviours. But how about we deal with these things earlier on rather than in the postmortem? This is what happens when the emotionally unintelligent get hold of something delicate and important. They fucking break it.