Brit awards off hook got Brand's 'edgy' joke

The Brits have escaped censure by media watchdog Ofcom over jokes made by TV host Russell Brand.

Brand’s comments about the Queen, drugs, Robbie Williams, Iraq, and intimate parts of the body, broadcast on ITV1, sparked 262 complaints.

The comic, 31, joked about allegations that Conservative Party leader David Cameron took drugs as a teenager.

He added: “Who among us didn’t smoke just a little bit of weed at school, just to take the edge off those irksome crack come-downs?”

But then Brand commented that the Cameron story was “as good an anti-drugs campaign as you’re going to get”, adding “don’t take drugs you might end up leader of the Tories with a face like a little painted egg”.

Viewers also complained about the flamboyant TV host’s comment that it was time to find out “who has pierced the hymen of awareness to ejaculate success into the uterus of popular culture”.

ITV, which began broadcasting The Brits at 8pm, before the watershed, with a 30-second delay, said most of its viewers would expect Brand to be “edgy” and “provocative”.

The broadcaster said his comments did not glamorise, condone, or encourage drug abuse.

Ofcom said the sexual references and comments about drugs would not have been understood by young children.

The comments were made in a “tongue-in-cheek” style expected at a music awards ceremony broadcast after 8pm, it said.

Ofcom added: “Importantly, the overall context of the comments made by the presenter was not that drugs were acceptable.

“We understand that some viewers found the comments offensive, but on balance Ofcom has concluded there was no breach of the (broadcasting) Code.”

The watchdog did not investigate the star’s other comments, saying they were justified at a rock and pop event.