Written bySara Scarlett Willson
It is no secret that the investors behind the Catholic prayer and meditation app, Hallow, have deep pockets. Their $7 million Super Bowl commercial staring Mark Wahlberg and Jonathan Roumie showed America just how deep those pockets are. What is less clear, however, is the direction of Hallow, Inc.’s moral compass. At the beginning of this year, Hallow made the perplexing decision to advertise their product on the podcast and social media platforms of former comedian turned conspiracy theorist and alleged rapist Russell Brand.
Brand is currently under investigation by the Metropolitan Police of London for serious sexual misconduct including rape. He has been accused of non-consensual sexual contact by eleven women, ten in the United Kingdom and by another who filed a lawsuit in New York. Brand not only denies these accusations, but he dismisses them as a conspiracy against him.
What makes the decision of a Catholic prayer and meditation app to advertise with Brand even more baffling is that Brand is not Catholic. In a recent social media post, Brand discusses what church to be baptized into as he is undecided. As recently as the beginning of this year, Brand’s Instagram reels, although intensely spiritual in nature, could be described as Christian mysticism and pagan.
For almost two decades the comedian has promoted esoteric thought and Eastern religion married with the spirituality of 12-Step programs. Brand himself has particularly credited transcendental meditation for his sobriety journey and until the end 2023 hosted a transcendental meditation podcast.
Before 2024, Brand’s social media content rarely mentioned Christ, although Brand described himself as a believer, and instead featured many videos on transcendental meditation and yoga in between his political commentary. Brand also hosts a yearly alcohol-free mindfulness festival, which features speakers, yoga, meditation, and wild swimming as activities.
It is unclear when exactly Brand became interested in Catholicism. In October 2010, Russell Brand married pop star Katy Perry in a Hindu ceremony in India. The marriage only lasted fourteen months before the couple divorce with Brand dumping Perry via text message. The two people who may be most surprised at Brand’s sudden Christian fervor are Perry’s parents.
One of the factors that contributed to the divorce was Brand’s persistent aggression towards their Evangelical Christian beliefs. Perry’s father is a Christian pastor who uninvited the former comedian from family events due to his inability to remain polite. Later, Perry said that her mother “thanks God every day” for the couple’s divorce despite believing divorce is a grave sin.
In the 2000s, Brand was known for his shock jock antics on British radio and his risqué stand-up comedy routines. In one stand-up comedy routine, Brand joked about enjoying choking women while they perform sexual acts on him, until they cry so hard their mascara runs down their faces.
In 2008 while working for British public broadcaster, BBC Radio, Brand prank called actor Andrew Sachs and left a series of lewd voicemail messages about a sexual encounter he had with the actor’s granddaughter. The BBC and Brand made an apology after a public outcry, and Brand subsequently resigned from the show.
Rumors of Brand’s more private misbehavior circulated widely on the UK comedy circuit according to comedian Andrew Sloss. In 2023, those rumors were exposed by a long-running joint investigation by the Sunday Times and Channel 4 Dispatches.
In recent years, as fewer and fewer mainstream broadcasters in the UK were willing to employ him, Brand reincarnated himself as an online conspiracy theorist. On his channels he is now a fervent critic of the mainstream media and makes near daily broadcasts about issues such as vaccines, Trump, and Russia.
Having alienated his audience in the UK, Brand’s content now predominantly caters to a newer American audience less familiar with his past and reputation. He positions himself as a ‘truth-teller’ and a threat to the establishment. It’s not clear, however, what establishment that is. Nevertheless, the size of his fan base is impressive — to date, Brand has accumulated nearly four million followers on Instagram and is approaching seven million YouTube subscribers.
Brand’s interest in Christianity appears to inversely correlate with a mainstream media career in decline. As the audience on his broadcast channels has grown — and grown more American — the relationship between his fans and the belief system he credits with his sobriety became increasingly strained.
Commenters on his Instagram page have not been shy about criticizing the content of the reels he posts, which are filled with New Age spirituality and esoteric Eastern mysticism. Scouring the comments it is not hard to find many voices urging Brand to be less pagan and New Age and return to Christ.
Brand’s eclectic relationship with Christianity appears to be adapted from his experience in 12-Step programs. Brand’s pivot to Catholicism, however, is much more recent — as recent as January of this year. It was also fortuitously timed for Brand to advertise Hallow’s Lenten Prayer40 program.
Even though American audiences appear to be less aware of the ongoing investigation into his sexual behavior, it is unclear if Hallow executives were unaware of it before they decided to enter a commercial relationship with him.
Hallow’s usually responsive press team refused to respond to my enquiries when I asked them to clarify if they were aware of the ongoing investigation into Brand before entering into a commercial relationship with them.
What is it about Brand’s audience that they are so keen to reach that they are willing to overlook the fact that Brand may still yet be charged and tried for rape in the UK?
It is well known that Hallow likes to court “spiritual influencers” and celebrities to promote its product. In response to an email inquiry last month asking about how Hallow compensates its contributors, CEO Alex Jones replied, “We believe that great Catholic authors, speakers, and content creators deserve to be paid well and so we make every effort to compensate our creators fairly and generously, whether that’s through payment, donations, or other forms of partnership.”
One such partner is Father Michael Schmitz of the Diocese of Duluth, MN who presents on the app and designed his whole Lenten homily series in accordance with Hallows Pray40 Lenten program centering around Fr. Walter Ciszek’s book He Leadeth Me.
Father Schmitz and the Diocese of Duluth press office refused to comment on queries about the nature of Father Schmitz’s commercial relationship with Hallow, Inc.
It could strike one as in bad taste that a Catholic priest should write his Lenten homilies as a commercial tie-in to a for-profit company in exchange for compensation and donations. Others, however, may see it as done for a good cause. Notably, Father Schmitz is overseeing a considerable expansion of his ministry buildings at the University of Minnesota, Duluth.
In an Instagram reel released on Good Friday, Brand brandished a fake skull while talking about sacrifice and praising Father Schmitz. Ever since the allegations came out, Brand has gone to great lengths to draw comparisons between himself and the suffering Christ without directly acknowledging any of his own wrongdoing.
That is not to say there is no room for redemption. One of Hallow’s main cheerleaders is a convicted felon, actor Mark Wahlberg. The difference between Wahlberg and Brand is Wahlberg has taken full responsibility for his past behavior, apologized for it, and demonstrated that he has grown over the years. There is a pattern of accountability and growth with Wahlberg’s behavior that so far eludes Brand, who still dismisses the claims as conspiracy.
For Hallow to enter a commercial relationship with Brand with the investigation into allegations of sexual assault still ongoing smacks of poor taste, bad judgement, and a scant regard of the feelings of victims. The Catholic community is often, and rightly, accused of minimizing the cries for justice from victims of sexual assault. Surely many would find it troubling for a Catholic media outlet to engage a former comedian turned conspiracy theorist to promote their app while he is under investigation for rape. It sends a particularly callous message to victims of sexual assault: Catholic culture still doesn’t care about rape, and we don’t care about you.
Image: By appolinar – russell brand doing comedy, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12217806
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Sara Scarlett Willson
Sara Scarlett Willson was born and raised in the Middle East and studied politics and international relations at Royal Holloway, University of London. She now works as a journalist and author.
