Russell Brand's Instagram account has been removed days after the former comedian was jailed for rape and sexual assault, with visitors to the page now greeted by a message saying it is no longer available.

Brand, 51, had more than six million followers on Instagram. Anyone visiting his profile now sees the message: "Sorry, this page isn't available. The link you followed may be broken, or the page may have been removed."

The removal came to light after Brand's official account on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, shared screenshots of messages from Instagram. One read: "We disabled your account. Our technology found your account, or your activity on it, doesn't follow our rules." Another said: "We suspended your page. This is because Russell Brand goes against our community standards."

The screenshots indicated that the account was removed on 10 November. Instagram's parent company Meta confirmed to TMZ that the page was taken down because it "violates our policies".

"There never was a Russell Brand"

Sharing the post on X, the person running Brand's official account wrote: "There never was a Russell Brand, according to @Meta. Thank God for @elonmusk. Stay tuned."

Brand's X account remains active. According to the Scottish Sun, he has continued to post on another platform despite being behind bars, and is now serving his sentence in Wandsworth prison.

Conviction and sentence

On Thursday 5 November, Brand was found guilty at Southwark Crown Court of raping a woman in 2009 and sexually assaulting three female television and radio workers between 2004 and 2009, following a four-week trial. He was found not guilty on three other counts.

On Monday 9 November, he was sentenced to ten years and six months in prison. At the sentencing hearing, the court heard four victim impact statements. One woman described Brand as "a sexual predator who has no remorse for how his behaviour has impacted my life", and said his fame had left her afraid to speak out for years.

Presiding judge Mr Justice Bennathan told Brand: "About 20 years ago, Russell Brand, you were becoming famous. You were clever and, in many people's eyes, funny and charismatic. You had also become a sexual predator." The judge said Brand's status had protected him until 2023, when journalists published the allegations that led women to come forward, adding: "Your status protected you until 2023 when journalists published allegations."

Brand is expected to serve two-thirds of his sentence before being released on licence. He will also be on the sex offenders' register for life.

Fresh allegations under review

The Metropolitan Police has confirmed that investigations are continuing into two further allegations of rape made against Brand, and prosecutors are assessing whether to bring further charges. The allegations first surfaced in 2023 following a joint investigation by The Times, The Sunday Times and Channel 4, and police have said detectives are triaging new reports from several people who came forward during and after the trial.

Anyone affected by the issues in this article can contact the Rape Crisis England and Wales helpline on 0808 500 222, available 24 hours a day. Anyone in immediate danger should call 999.