London police reviewing new sexual assault allegation against Russell Brand

Actor and comedian Russell Brand is the subject of a new sexual assault allegation, days after being accused of rape, sexual assault, and emotional abuse by four women.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed to EW that they received a report of an alleged attack that took place in 2003.

"On Sunday, 17 September, the Met received a report of a sexual assault which was alleged to have taken place in Soho in central London in 2003," a spokesperson for the Police Department said in a statement. "Officers are in contact with the woman and will be providing her with support."

The news comes after The U.K. Times, The Sunday Times, and U.K. network Channel 4's television series Dispatches launched a joint investigation into Brand, and published reports detailing "controlling, abusive, and predatory behavior" between the years of 2006 and 2013. In the initial report, four separate women claim to have been sexually assaulted by the actor.

On Monday, The Times subsequently reported that "several women" had contacted the publication since the initial reporting.

The statement from the Metropolitan Police continued, "We first spoke with The Sunday Times on Saturday, 16 September and have since made further approaches to The Sunday Times and Channel 4 to ensure that anyone who believes they have been the victim of a sexual offence is aware of how to report this to the police. We continue to encourage anyone who believes they may have been a victim of a sexual offence, no matter how long ago it was, to contact us," the statement finished.

A representative for Brand did not immediately respond to EW's request for comment.

In recent years, Brand has stepped away from the spotlight and launched his own YouTube channel, acting as a wellness guru — for which he has previously been accused of peddling various conspiracy theories and spreading misinformation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

Following the allegations, YouTube has suspended monetization for Brand's account, which has 6.6 million subscribers, due to the "serious allegations against the creator."

"This decision applies to all channels that may be owned or operated by Russell Brand," said a YouTube spokesperson, adding that Brand violated the website's Creator Responsibility Policy: "If a creator's off-platform behaviour harms our users, employees or ecosystem, we take action to protect the community."

Brand has denied the allegations from the Times' article through a YouTube video titled "So, This Is Happening" which he released on Friday. In it, he "absolutely" refuted the "serious allegation," claiming that all of his relationships were "consensual." He added that the claims were "extremely egregious and aggressive attacks."

Per The Sunday Times, Brand's lawyers told the reporters behind the investigation that they were "not in a position" to respond to the extensive allegations because they had asked a "large litany of questions" and had anonymized the women's names. They did not comment any further.

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

Related content:

• Russell Brand accused of rape, sexual assaults, and emotional abuse by four women
• Russell Brand says marriage to 'amazing' Katy Perry came at a chaotic time for him
• Russell Brand blasts 'normalized' American media coverage of mass shootings