Russell Brand recently copped to sleeping with a 16 year old when he was 30. WTF. Thank God he clears up the legality of it all by reminding us that the age of consent in the UK is 16. So, at least, as far as the law is concerned, he is in the clear. Whew. I was concerned.

I think if I was a man under investigation for rape, as Brand is, that I would be a bit more careful about sharing any information about my murky sexual past. That Brand willingly goes there is both surprising and telling.

In this modern Me Too environment, why would someone so stupidly admit to something that he knew would receive a hostile reception? Why would be bring up the age of consent otherwise? This gets him off the hook, sort of, for a morally dubious decision. Unfortunately for Brand, the facts remain the same, he was a 30 year old man and he knowingly took advantage of a 16 year old. The age of consent in the UK only matters to the police and the courts, the rest of us are free to judge him however we want to and, of course, have.

Tellingly, he thought he could explain it away without getting into any real trouble. Once people knew the age of consent, and that the 16 year old girl consented, and he now knows he was wrong to exploit her, he thought people would think what an evolved man Russell Brand is. Instead, people are coming to a different conclusion. Brand is a bit of an asshole and a not very bright asshole at that. How does he know the girl was 16? Did he check her passport details? A 15 year old can look a lot like a 16 year old and that would change his whole consent argument now wouldn’t it?

I’m not trying to encourage criminal activity but the one thing I do know is if you are under criminal investigation, you keep your trap shut and leads me to wonder if Brand had fallen completely under the spell of celebrity culture. He was a spent force in celebrity world and the only way for someone like Brand to grab headlines is to behave outrageously in order to regain that sad perceived glory.

Well, it worked if that was his goal, otherwise what a stupid asshole.