Early this week I got a request from Charles Davis, Russell Brand’s booker for his new show (and soon to be old show), “Brand X.” It surprised me, because clearly, this is not my usual milieu. And while I knew that it would be snarky and stupid, I was also keenly aware that this young, impressionable and brainwashed audience never gets an opportunity to hear from First Amendment activists, counter-jihadists, former Muslims, etc. And so I seized upon it. They never ever hear from the reasoned and the rational. I was prepared for a snake pit. I was prepared for a circus. But I wasn’t prepared for the pure evil that I was confronted with.
Now, mind you, I asked Davis if it was pure snark, or would the issue be addressed in any kind of meaningful fashion. And he answered in a way that made me really think it was worth my while to use desperately needed AFDI funds to fly into (and right back out of) Los Angeles for this segment.
Davis wrote this to me on Oct. 23: “I am a booker for a talk show on FX hosted by Russell Brand. We’re taping a show in Hollywood this Friday and were hoping to have someone from the American Freedom Defense Initiative on the show to discuss the threat opposed by Islamists, including those living within our midst. Please let me know if you or someone else would be available to come on the show in person.”
I responded: “Can you tell me a bit about the format? Is it pure snark or is the issue also addressed with concern?” Davis answered: “The way it goes is after Russell’s opening monologue, he brings a guest on stage for a 10-15 minute discussion of a hot social and/or political issue (last week we did gay marriage). It’s definitely not CSPAN, but it’s also not Jay Leno, meaning we do try to get past mere snark and into some substance, as Russell does have a genuine interest in politics.”
Charlie is a liar.
So I spent the next 18 hours flying in and out of Los Angeles. I grabbed a cab directly to Bronson studio, and after I changed in the green room, Brand’s producers excitedly came to get me, because Brand insisted on meeting me. Brand was all over me like a cheap suit, so happy to meet me and super cozy … knowing all along what was coming.
He showed his real agenda when the show began, describing the format of his program as having someone really great on, as well as a segment featuring “racists” and “homophobes.” And while he didn’t introduce me with that libelous label, he said I was someone controversial – and that I have come to expect. Freedom lovers and truth tellers are controversial in this morally inverted universe.
But I didn’t expect, when I sat down in his faux-Letterman chair, that his first obscene and profane announcement was that I was a MILF. And he kept on, “You know what a MILF is – a mum I’d like to f–k.” As awful as that is, I knew going in the low state of the culture and the fact that this kind of ugliness is what passes for humor, so I pressed on and laughed it off, held my nose and moved forward – and from there it went all downhill.
Brand then rattled off a series of inane pre-written questions. The same tired old leftist talking points. Do I want war with Iran (and Iraq)? Do I want all Muslims deported, or some such nonsense. Do I want a mosque built at Ground Zero. He tried unsuccessfully to rouse the mainly moronic crowd with that one, but could not after my reasoned and right response. And, of course, the Breivik question. It’s a sign of anti-logic that they try to pin a monster’s slaughter to my work (urging non-violence and individual rights) while completely dismissing the tie between the most violent commands to war in the Quran and the 19,747 deadly Islamic attacks since 9/11.
One of the questions was, Do you believe Obama is a pro-jihad president? I said, in Libya, I do. The crowd booed. I turned to the crowd and said, our people begged for help not once, not twice, but three times, and they were denied. Refused! Then the crowd got silent.
And then two minutes into the segment, as if on cue, and he was on cue, a Muslim stood up with a giant sign – “PAMELA’S RACISM,” and he was screaming, “Pamela’s racism kills children.” I can’t recall if the giant sign had the children libel on it as well. It was an obvious setup. It was not a sign written with a marker. It was a huge sign, professionally done. And Brand goes into the audience and brings the guy (and his sign) up to the stage and sits him in Brand’s seat at his desk with the giant sign. He lets this extremist Muslim go off on a disgusting rant, screaming about how I’m a racist hater, blah blah blah, and a criminal troll.
I half expected him to pull out a knife and try to behead me.
Then Brand jumps in. And Brand and the Muslim both went off on me, without giving me an opportunity to respond. They berated me about everyone getting along and having dialogue. Apparently, they think that as long as I don’t speak, that’s dialogue. It was shameful. Really ugly.
It was impossible to have any kind of serious discussion. When I said I was not anti-Muslim, but anti-jihad, Brand responded, “What about Uncle Jihad?” That was the moronic level he wanted to stay on. I said we needed to fight against honor killing and child marriage, and he joked moronically, “Child marriage? Sounds interesting!” As I spoke about clitorectomies, honor killings, etc., he kept repeating, “Don’t be so daft!” I asked him if he supported clitorectomies and honor killings, and he said, “Of course not.” I said, “Then you’re a racist.”
Of course, I don’t know how much of this is going to make it into the show they air. A young woman began yelling in support of my position. I expect he will cut her out of the show. Sadly, she was the only one in the whole audience. She obviously was not part of Brand’s ruse, because when she was yelling in support of me from the audience, and saying, “My husband is serving over there,” Brand turned to her and said “shut the f–k up!” and called out to his producer, “Move that boom.” There was a boom mic over her, and he was desperate that they move it. I doubt that moment will make it to the aired, edited version.
This courageous woman, Denise Bowen, later wrote at my website AtlasShrugs.com: “When I saw what Brand was doing to Pamela – he was not letting her get a word in edgewise – and when the little bastard with the sign accusing Pamela of being a murderer jumped up and started shouting about the oppressed people and ‘brown’ people that she supposedly is murdering, I, as well, thought that he was a suicide bomber or terrorist. Quite frightening! I saw the look on your face when Brand was kneeling on the floor with his face not 1 inch from yours, shaking that filthy mane around and acting like a maniac; well, I guess something in me just snapped. He treated the person with the sign better than he did his real guest, allowing him to sit in his chair while verbally assaulting Pamela. That’s when I came to your defense. I completely forgot about the cameras and just saw a situation that was unacceptable. You were alone up there and being abused, and I couldn’t let it just happen. I am absolutely appalled that not one other person (a man, maybe) defended her. I was so angry I got up and walked out and castigated anyone from the show I saw on my way out, that we are at war with jihad and he is trying to brainwash our young people. I am sorry that it was so awful – I’m usually much more sedate, but enough is enough! I will not stand by silently and let things like that happen to good people.”
At one point, Brand said, we know what you are. I said, “No, you don’t.”
At the end, Brand was lovey-dovey again. Kiss and make-up stuff. He wouldn’t let me off the stage until I gave him a kiss goodbye. It was that awful.
When you call someone racist, it’s not funny. Libel is not funny. I learned after the fact that Charles Davis is an employee of Code Pink and writes for Al-Jazeera. If I had known that going in, I would have been more circumspect.
Still, as disgusting as it was, I am not sorry I went. One person in the audience was reached with the truth, and that for me is worth it. This is the war in the information battle space, and it’s stacked heavily in the favor of our enemies and their apologists, tools and court jesters – so I am quite used to it. But Brand was even worse than all the Scott Pelleys and Erin Burnetts and Joy Behars, or any of the worst of the biased journalists I have dealt with over the years.
I don’t know how young people will avoid the dark age that is descending on the free world.
