Russell Brand is under fire from locals in the village where he bought a pub - claiming the 600-year-old building has been turned into an “eyesore”.
The disgraced comedian has left his 15th century pub, The Crown Inn, in Pishill, to rot after he failed with plans to turn it into a conspiracy hub.
The former addict has sparked fury among residents ever since he purchased the Grade II-listed hostelry, which he bought in December 2021 for £850,000 and has never opened its doors to the public.
The Sun’s exclusive photos and videos show how it’s been deserted by Brand with broken windows held together with tape, an overgrown pub garden and the remains of building work.
Now villagers are demanding Brand does the honourable thing and sells it.
Sadly, they don’t hold out much hope, as he’s fled to live in Florida and abandoned the place, setting up his “conspiracy media hub” in Miami.
He’s abandoned plans to turn the pub into his alt-right headquarters after furious complaints from locals and the council forced him to withdraw his applications.
Our exclusive photos reveal the mess it’s in with broken windows and unkempt gardens.
Brand walked away after he had to withdraw numerous planning applications - the last one in October 2024 - to turn the pub into an alt-right media hub for his daily Rumble podcast and meet-ups with fellow conspiracy thinkers.
Now locals want him out of the village for good and the pub sold to owners interested in opening it to serve booze and food, which teetotaller Brand seemingly never wanted to do.
Caroline Dempsey, who lives next door, fears that the only way Brand would sell up is if he flogged the land to greedy developers to make a profit.
“My greatest concern now is that the premises - two Grade II-listed buildings, The Crown Inn and The Barn - which are both of immense cultural and historical significance, will be left to fall into disrepair until the site as a whole can be sold to developers at great profit to Russell Brand.
"This may take years while in the meantime, it all becomes a sad, neglected, overgrown eyesore,” she says.
“Alternatively, if Brand is prepared to cut his losses, perhaps he will sell up and give someone else the opportunity to make the pub work.
“Denying a small rural community of the only venue it has for meeting and catching up, the only premises capable of providing a rest stop, water and hospitality to visitors, walkers and cyclists for miles around, does not in my mind sit comfortably as being the actions of a committed Christian or God-fearing individual as he claims to be and so, above all, I don’t really understand Brand’s perspective on this one.
“I believe that the most prevalent opinion within our community is that it really is time for him to walk away from The Crown and let someone else have a go at making it work.
“We were once open-minded and supportive of new owners with a younger and more contemporary approach to running and managing the premises but this isn’t it. I would say that for all concerned, the game and time is up.
“A number of local rural pubs have closed in recent years but The Crown does have a lot going for it."
Ironically, leaving the place to rot could be in Brand’s financial interest, as it’s the only way developers would gain planning permission to demolish it if it was damaged beyond repair, says Caroline.
She thinks he could get double, up to £2million, if he sold the land - but it would sell at a loss if it was to remain a pub due to the cost of renovation works.
Boosting profits
“He would probably need to sell it at a lower price than he paid for it in order to attract a publican or someone who might consider operating it as a small hotel or pub with rooms,” explains Caroline.
“A developer would only be interested in converting the site to houses or apartments - a number viewed the premises before Brand bought it - but would only get planning permission if The Crown Inn itself had fallen so far into dilapidation that it would be deemed to be beyond repair.
“There are a number of former pubs within the jurisdiction of this council, which have stood empty for seven to ten years and then been demolished to eventually make way for new housing. A sad and miserable process.
“So Brand could, in my view, try to sell it now but probably at a loss. Or hang on to it for a number of years, and as a development site it could easily be worth a lot more, possibly, £2 million.”
Another local, Josh Robinson-War,d is equally as furious at Brand. The villager’s worst nightmare would be if he reopened it in a half-hearted way, which may result in the council being persuaded to agree to a change of business.
Josh says: “We have been hearing that he has moved over to the USA, I’m not really sure of the details, and no idea what it means for the pub.
“The council retracted their planning application, as it was about to be rejected, and we expected a new application to come in, but since then it seems like he’s not coming back anyway.
“What that means for the pub is unknown, he bought it for a low price, he’s made a lot of money from his platform filming there and he likely doesn’t care for now. It’s standing cold and empty at the moment.
“There’s no legal obligation to open it. Letting it rot would make it difficult to sell. If he did open it for a period and it failed as a pub this would actually make it easier for him to argue for a change of use.”
Brand has been approached for comment.
Brand's rape charges
As of last week, the comedian and actor, 49, who has been charged with rape and sexual assault, is facing complaints from at least three more women.
They reportedly contacted the Met Police after the Crown Prosecution Service authorised five sex offence charges against Brand on April 4.
He has denied all allegations and will fly back from Florida — where he now lives with his wife — to appear before Westminster magistrates on May 2.
Detectives began investigating after receiving a number of allegations in September 2023.
It followed reporting by Channel 4's Dispatches and The Sunday Times.
The Metropolitan Police said the charges relate to four women between 1999 and 2005.
Brand has previously denied the accusations, and said all his sexual relationships were "absolutely always consensual".
He has been charged with the rape of a woman in 1999 in the Bournemouth area and the oral rape and sexual assault of a woman in 2004 in the Westminster area of London.
He has also been charged with indecently assaulting a woman in 2001 and sexually assaulting another woman between 2004 and 2005 - both offences are alleged to have taken place in Westminster, London.
Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy said: "The women who have made reports continue to receive support from specially trained officers.
"The Met's investigation remains open and detectives ask anyone who has been affected by this case, or anyone who has any information, to come forward and speak with police."
In a video posted to X, Brand denied the alleged crimes.
He said: "I've always told you guys, when I was young and single, before I had my wife and family, I was a fool man.
"I was a drug addict, a sex addict, and an imbecile. But what I never was, was a rapist. I've never engaged in non-consensual activity - I pray that you can see that by looking in my eyes."
Brand was briefly married to pop star Katy Perry between 2010 and 2012.
