Culture

Russell Brand apologises for police hoax

by Dave Keating | July 16, 2008 at 04:03 am

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This is truly bizarre. British comedian Russell Brand, who might be known to Americans through his role in the recent movie "Forgetting Sarah marshall," made a prank call to a local police department during a live stage show in Northhampton, UK.

The police department has been looking for a man wanted for a number of sexual assaults. Brand used someone in the audience's mobile phone to call the police and say he had spotted the main, using a falsetto voice and pretending to be a woman. The video has been uploaded to YouTube.

Upon being confronted about the incident by the media the next day, Brand issued a statement in which he almost bent over himself apologizing. But his apology doesn't seem at all connected to the incident itself, and seems just like rambling.

What a bizarre man.

Comedian Russell Brand has apologised for making a hoax call on a crime hotline during a performance on stage at a theatre in Northampton.

The star rang the police number in front of a live audience and said he had spotted a man who might be responsible for a series of assaults.

Brand said he is "devastated by the possibility" that he may have "offended vulnerable people".

Northamptonshire police have warned people against making hoax calls.

Prank call

However, officers have refused to say whether further action will be taken against the star.

But a spokesman said the force would "discourage" any communication with police hotlines which was not genuine.

"I maintain that through discourse we can illuminate these dark behaviours but that ought not to be at the expense of people's feelings," Brand said in a statement on Wednesday.

The prank call was inspired by local media coverage of investigations into a number of assaults in the town in recent weeks.