LONDON: British comedian Russell Brand has acknowledged sleeping with a 16-year-old girl when he was at the height of his fame, but claims that his actions were “exploitative”, but was not illegal.

“The age of consent is 16 and I did sleep with a 16-year-old when I was 30,” Brand told US right-wing host Megyn Kelly in a YouTube show broadcast Wednesday.

“But when I was 30, I was a very different person. I was a lot younger and I was an immature 30-year-old.”

He insisted it had been a consensual encounter, but added “when you’re a fam­ous man that has the ability to attract women... I think involves exploitation”.

“I recognise that my sexual conduct in the past was selfish and I did not apply enough consideration... to how that sex was affecting other people.”

Published in Dawn, April 24th, 2026