Elon Musk says it’s ‘witch burning season’ as he defends Russell Brand again during X Spaces interview with Ben Shapiro

Tesla founder Elon Musk again jumped to the defense of controversial comedian Russell Brand on Thursday during an X Spaces conversation about freedom of expression and religion with Ben Shapiro.

Conservative activist Shapiro brought up the multiple allegations of rape and sexual assault against Brand, 48, specifically the deplatforming Brand suffered after YouTube demonetized his account earlier this month.

Brand denies allegations of sexual assault made by four women in a Channel 4 television documentary and in The Times and Sunday Times newspapers.

The accusers, who have not been named, include one who said she was sexually abused during a relationship with him when she was 16. Another woman says Brand raped her in Los Angeles in 2012.

‘Of course there must be a conviction here. It cannot be guilty until it is proven innocent. Because we are clearly in the witch burning phase here; Just being declared a witch is enough to make you a witch and be burned,” Musk said.

Brand denies allegations of sexual assault made by four women in a Channel 4 television documentary and in The Times and Sunday Times newspapers

The South African added his concerns that “anyone can be accused of false accusations at any time, and we cannot destroy their lives because of the possibility of false accusations.”

He also claimed that because Brand is “rattling the cage of the ‘powers that be’,” the public should be asking why the allegations against the London-born podcaster have come out now.

“It seems like a strange coincidence that this is happening as Russell is really gaining traction and questioning a lot of the conventional wisdom.”

“I think we’re running out of conspiracy theories that turned out not to be true,” he added.

Musk also said that he has been accused of spreading conspiracy theories online in the past.

Brand’s other platform, Rumble, is being abandoned by advertisers following the new allegations.

Promoters have also canceled several of Brand’s scheduled live shows, and he has been dropped by his talent agency and a publisher since the allegations became public.

Brand still maintains a presence on Rumble, a video site popular with some conservatives and far-right groups, where his channel has 1.6 million followers. The site has been criticized for allowing – and sometimes promoting – disinformation and conspiracy theories.

Musk’s interview with Ben Shapiro revolved around faith and freedom of speech

Hungarian President Katalin Novak and Musk visit the recently inaugurated Tesla Gigafactory Texas factory in Austin

Brand hosted a new broadcast on Rumble on Monday, saying the platform had made a “clear commitment to freedom of expression.”

Last week, YouTube said it would stop Brand from making money from the streaming site, where he has 6.6 million subscribers, because of the “serious allegations” against him.

London’s Metropolitan Police said it had “received a number of allegations of sexual offences” following a television documentary and newspaper investigation. It said no arrests have been made.

“We continue to encourage anyone who believes they have been the victim of a sexual offense, no matter how long ago, to contact us,” said Detective Chief Inspector Andy Furphy of the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, who is leading the investigation.

Known for his unbridled and daring stand-up routines, Brand was a major British star in the early 2000s. He hosted shows on radio and television, wrote memoirs chronicling his battle with drugs and alcohol, appeared in several Hollywood films and was briefly married to pop star Katy Perry between 2010 and 2012.

Brand has largely disappeared from mainstream media, but has built a large following online with videos that combine welfare and conspiracy theories.

Musk had previously rushed to Brand’s defense. A week ago he wrote on X: ‘There is more to it than meets the eye. When it comes to actual sexual predation in the entertainment industry, it’s a very long list. Why Russell Brand now?’

When the allegations against Brand first emerged, Musk wrote: “I support Russell Brand. That man isn’t bad.’

In his interview with Shapiro, Musk also discussed his views on the Jewish religion. He noted that he grew up in South Africa attending a Jewish kindergarten and that his first name means tree in Hebrew.

‘Now I don’t know if I’m genetically Jewish or what. Maybe somewhere. But I would say that I am aspirationally Jewish, let me put it this way,” Musk said to laughter from Shapiro.

Musk went on to say that he has “twice as many Jewish friends as non-Jewish friends… I think I’m basically Jewish.”

The billionaire has been regularly targeted by the Anti-Defamation League since taking over Twitter. In response, Musk has blamed the group for a loss of advertising, accusing the group of putting pressure on companies and labeling him as an anti-Semite.