Russell Brand accused of rape and sexual assault

Russell Brand has been accused of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse.

The actor and comedian is at the centre of a joint investigation by The Times, The Sunday Times and Channel 4's Dispatches.

Russell has vehemently denied all the claims, after four women made allegations about the star's behaviour between 2006 and 2013.

In a video posted on Friday before the allegations were published, Russell insisted his relationships were "absolutely always consensual".

"I have received two extremely disturbing letters, or a letter and an email, one from a mainstream media TV company, one from a newspaper, listing a litany of egregious and aggressive attacks," he said in the clip posted on Instagram.

"Amidst this litany of astonishing, rather baroque attacks, are some very serious allegations that I absolutely refute.

"When I was in the movies and as I've written about extensively in my books, I was very, very promiscuous. During that time of promiscuity, the relationships that I had were absolutely always consensual."

The investigation was published this weekend in The Sunday Times, while a Dispatches documentary titled Russell Brand - In Plain Sight aired on Saturday evening in the U.K. on Channel 4.

Shortly after the documentary was televised, Russell performed a comedy show at London's Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre, as part of his Bipolarisation tour.

During the show, the 48-year-old star alluded to the accusations but told the audience, "There are obviously some things that I absolutely cannot talk about and I appreciate that you will understand."

One woman alleged Russell raped her at his Los Angeles home, while a second woman claimed Russell assaulted her when she was 16 and he was in his 30s. A third woman accused the actor of sexually assaulting her when she worked for him in Los Angeles, while a fourth woman alleged Russell sexually assaulted her and was physically and emotionally abusive towards her.