Russell Brand Is Not Here to Talk About His Rent, Mate
The latest battlefront in Russell Brand's Revolution™ is the New Era housing estate, a choice piece of London property currently occupied by 93 families. The estate's new owner, U.S. firm Westbrook, intends to evict them so it can fetch "fair market rates"—an insane $3,000 a month—for the apartments. Brand has made himself the face of the tenants.
But since you're here, Russell, and some cameras are here also, do you mind telling us how much you pay in rent for your London flat?
"I'm not interested in talking to you about my rent, mate," Brand told a Channel 4 reporter who accused him of being part of London's growing rent problem. Rent in the city is up 11% this year, and income growth isn't keeping pace.
"I'd say I'm part of the solution," Brand said to Paraic O'Brien, "People coming together to amplify the voices of ordinary people, that's what's needed."
"It's snides like you, mate, undermining. You're a snide," he quipped, before walking away to find another camera.
294,000 "ordinary people" signed Brand's petition to stop the evictions, which he delivered to the Prime Minister's office Monday.
Brand lives near, but not exactly among, the people he's advocating for.
Although he claimed not to know the value of his apartment, The Daily Mail reports the comedian is "believed to be currently living" less than a mile away from New Era, in a "trendy" $8,000-a-month loft. He sold his house for $3.5 million in 2010, and formerly owned a Hollywood mansion that once belonged to Laurence Olivier.
But he's not here to talk about that. He's here to call attention to himself and then yell at the media for focusing on him.
Meanwhile, London Shadow Minister Sadiq Khan—rent unknown—has called on Westbrook to sell the New Era property to a social landlord so the tenants can stay. In a letter delivered to residents Sunday night, the company promised not to raise rents until mid-2015.
