Russell Brand: ‘I Know That Pornography Is Wrong’

Comedian, actor, and author Russell Brand’s transition to cult leader is nearly complete. Hot on the heels of advocating a revolution in favor of a new paradigm that “supersedes the current structure of nationstate governments and the corporate military-industrial complex,” and ruining people’s lunch, he has now apparently set his sights on your porn habit.

Here’s one of the more coherent bits of his recent Trews video about the harmful effects of porn:

I know that pornography is wrong, that I shouldn’t be looking at it, that lots of people that work in it are doing so because of the wrong reasons – desperation, self doubt – I’m sure there’s loads of people who work in porn that go “hey, i love it,” but there’s a general feeling in your core that “this isn’t the best thing for me to be doing… this isn’t the best use of my time now…” I don’t put that laptop lid down and think “There! What a productive piece of time spent!”

I feel like if I had total dominion over myself I would never look at pornography again.

Notice how he dials back a contentious, doctrinaire pronouncement like “I know that pornography is wrong” to the point that it becomes “there are more productive things you could be doing with your time than jacking off?” As if the latter is somehow proof of the former? That’s just good culting right there.

These days, Russell Brand occasionally bumbles his way into something resembling a truth, but even if you agreed with everything he said you’d still have to wish the message was being delivered by someone who wasn’t such an insufferable twat. He’s made a video where he shouts things he’s read to us as if he’s the first person who has ever read. “Whoa, you’re telling us that capitalism subverts the power of sexual attraction in order to sell us things!?! Someone needs to blow the lid off this thing!”

This is what happens when you reach the “Obnoxious College Freshman” phase of your life at age 39.

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