Russell Brand won over Bear Grylls while appearing on one of his shows – and Bear explained that he ‘never judges’ despite the shocking allegations made months before Brand’s baptism
Bear Grylls has shared why he attended Russell Brand’s baptism despite multiple claims of sexual assault arising against the star months earlier.
Brand shocked fans when he revealed the Celebrity Bear Hunt star was present as he got baptised in the Thames in May 2024, sharing a photo of himself in the water hugging both Bear and another man. “Me, Bear Grylls, the River Thames, and of course, The Holy Spirit,” he wrote on Instagram at the time.
The duo first seemed to strike up a friendship when Brand travelled across the Hebrides Islands with the survivalist for the series Running Wild With Bear Grylls, which aired in August 2023. They even spoke about religion at one moment – with Bear having come closer to God as an adult by taking the Alpha Course – and Brand admitted that he’d felt disconnected from faith. “When you stop drinking and stop taking drugs, you’re confronted with the nature of the problem. I was a disconnected person, certainly from any sense of higher purpose or God,” he said to Bear during the show.
At the weekend, Bear explained that his faith, alongside his link to Brand from the show, meant that he was happy to support the controversial comedian. “I try and live in a way that I never judge and I always try and love – and that principle doesn’t just apply to perfect people with perfect lives,” he told the Evening Standard.
“He was a Running Wild guest; I’m friends with many of our Running Wild guests. And I always try to think of that phrase, ‘WWJD’ – what would Jesus do? That’s been a guiding principle for me.”
Prior to his baptism, Brand explored many ways of life, including Buddhism and staunch atheism. However, he converted to Christianity just months after a joint investigation by Channel 4’s Dispatches programme, The Times and the Sunday Times in September 2023 saw multiple women step forward to accuse him of sexual assault.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed they were investigating allegations about the comedian, and he was later questioned. Brand has always denied the allegations made against him, while detectives sent a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service in November last year so that they could consider filing charges against him.
Bear has addressed the claims against Brand, asserting this month that he didn’t perform the baptism, but the actor was a “friend” and Bear “never judges.”
“You know what, whoever it is, you can’t only stand beside people who have had perfect journeys. It was for him a real moment of humility and repentance and genuine heart-felt finding of quite a faith in his life.” he told The Telegraph.
Bear added: “People say to me, ‘What about the victims?,’ if they’re victims. And I go, ‘Of course I stand beside everybody. We are called to love everybody and not to judge anyone.’”
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