Convict Russell Brand Licked Kristen Schaal as She Shouted 'No!' in Resurfaced 2012 Rove LA Clip, Report Says

Russell Brand repeatedly licked actress Kristen Schaal's arm as she shouted 'No!' during a 2012 recording of Rove LA in Burbank, California.

The incident was revisited by the Daily Mail on Wednesday, 11 November, two days after the comedian was jailed for rape and sexual assault.

Brand, 51, was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on 9 November to 10 years and six months in prison.

A jury convicted him on 5 November of one rape and three sexual assaults against four women between 2004 and 2009. He was acquitted of two other rape charges and one count of attempted indecent assault.

Russell Brand and Kristen Schaal's Rove LA Exchange

Brand appeared alongside Schaal, known for Flight of the Conchords, and singer Adam Lambert in the second-season premiere of Rove LA. The episode first aired in Australia on 30 September 2012, before its US premiere on 6 October.

Australian host Rove McManus was reading television network rules, including a restriction on graphic or sexual acts, when Brand interrupted. He asked whether it would be prohibited to 'lick inside Kristen's arm curtain', referring to the sleeve of her outfit.

According to the Daily Mail's account of the footage, Brand pulled back Schaal's sleeve and repeatedly licked her upper arm. She shouted 'No!' at least three times and drew away from him. She then leaned towards his leg as though attempting to bite it, while Lambert covered his eyes.

McManus grabbed Lambert's ankle and licked it, according to the report. Brand then turned towards Lambert, who cheered, as laughter continued in the studio. The Daily Mail said its reporter had attended the recording and had contacted McManus's management for comment.

The television encounter was not among the offences for which Brand was prosecuted or convicted. The report does not indicate that Schaal filed a criminal complaint over it, and it included no account from her. There is also no suggestion that McManus knew about Brand's offending.

Brand had appeared on McManus's earlier Australian programmes, including Rove and The 7PM Project. The later encounter took place during Rove LA's second and final season.

Russell Brand's Earlier Australian Interviews Revisited

Other encounters involving Brand and Australian broadcasters have also attracted renewed attention. During a 2010 interview, he climbed into entertainment reporter Fifi Box's lap and joked that he had made her pregnant.

Brand made further remarks about Box's pregnancy during a 2012 appearance on Sunrise. In 2015, he joked about fathering her daughter during an appearance on The Project, after presenter Gorgi Coghlan mentioned Box. Box subsequently rejected the suggestion.

Box nevertheless defended Brand at the time, calling him 'actually a beautiful person and a very dear friend to me.' The Daily Mail report did not include a fresh response from her about his conviction.

Brand also kissed journalist Liz Hayes during a 2012 interview for 60 Minutes, before making a remark about undoing her bra. Hayes gasped 'Russell', while people nearby laughed, according to reports of the encounter.

Reflecting on the interview in a 2021 retrospective, Hayes said she had assessed the situation when Brand approached her. She recalled asking herself, 'Am I in danger? What could go wrong?' Her account provides direct context for a moment previously broadcast as entertainment.