Kirsty Gallacher breaks her silence as she returns to social media for the first time since brother-in-law Russell Brand was accused of rape, sexual assault and predatory behaviour
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Kirsty Gallacher returned to social media on Wednesday to share her first post since brother-in-law Russell Brand was accused of rape, sexual assault and predatory behaviour.
The presenter, 47, has maintained a stoic silence following a joint investigation by The Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4 Dispatches into the comedian’s conduct around women at the height of his mainstream TV fame.
But she returned to Instagram on Wednesday with a 46th birthday message for Sky Sports colleague and close friend Natalie Pinkham.
Sharing a photo of the pair at the Ultimate Luxury Travel Related Awards, an event they co-hosted in 2018, she wrote: ‘Happy birthday to this special woman, how lucky I am to have you in my life.’
Pinkham later reposted the tribute on her own Instagram account, adding: ‘Love you too KG.’
Back online: Kirsty Gallacher returned to social media on Wednesday to share her first post since brother-in-law Russell Brand was accused of rape and sexual assault
Family: Gallacher’s younger sister Laura (pictured), a self-styled ‘mummy blogger’ , is married to the under-fire presenter
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Gallacher’s return to social media comes after a week long absence as Brand, who is married to the presenter’s younger sister Laura, battles to save his career following an in depth exposé into his actions while working in mainstream TV and radio.
On September 16, shortly before the Dispatchers report aired on Channel 4, she appeared to support her brother-in-law after he took to social media to ‘absolutely deny’ a string of ‘very serious criminal allegations made against him’.
The Smooth Radio presenter shared the comedian’s two-minute YouTube video, accompanying it with a large red love heart in an Instagram story that she has since deleted.
Brand has since been accused of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse by four women during the peak of his fame, according to a joint investigation by The Sunday Times and Channel 4.
The allegations claim to have taken place between 2006 and 2013. One of the alleged victims is alleged to be a 16-year-old schoolgirl.
Brand’s close friends and confidantes have since rallied to defend the comedian, insisting that while the comedian is ‘crude, arrogant, and offensive’, he is ‘not a monster’.
The British-born star – a recovering addict – has been substance-free since overcoming his addiction to heroin and crack cocaine in 2002, and according to one woman who has known him since his early days in recovery, those in his sober circle are ‘shocked’ by the accusations of abuse that he is now facing.
‘Everyone is shocked right now. Russell has been a driving force in so many people’s recovery over the years and he has helped thousands of people get clean by sharing his powerful story,’ one woman, who went through recovery with him and wished to remain anonymous, told DailyMail.com.
Special day: Gallacher returned to Instagram on Wednesday with a 46th birthday message for Sky Sports colleague and close friend Natalie Pinkham
Under-fire: Brand has been accused of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse by four women during the peak of his fame, according to a joint investigation by The Sunday Times and Channel 4
READ MORE: Channel 4 and BBC remove Russell Brand shows including QI, Bake Off and Joe Wicks podcast from their streaming services – as Tim Davie launches review of the comic’s time at corporation and says his content was ‘completely unacceptable’
‘He is constantly being of service and is very engaged in his recovery. He works with a team of new addicts to help them get sober as well.’
A separate source, who met Brand during his rise to fame, claimed he has never ‘crossed the line’.
‘I have seen Russell in intimate settings, as well as huge red carpet celebrity events. He is always himself and, while he is very flirty because this is his nature, I have not witnessed him crossing the line,’ the Hollywood insider told DailyMail.com.
‘Russell is vulgar. He is crude. He has built a persona on being a sexual playboy. He has slept with countless women, and he will tell you this.
‘He is also offensive, and he is arrogant, but he never came across as a monster to me. He is, in fact, very good to those who he cares about. He has friends who will stand up in court to vouch for his character if he needs them.’
The once-promiscuous actor, who was infamously dubbed ‘Shagger of the Year’ by one news outlet, married Laura Gallacher in 2017, six years after he split from his first wife, Katy Perry. The couple have daughters, Mabel, and Peggy, and are awaiting the birth of their third child.
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She is understood to be struggling with the ’emotional toll’ of the allegations, according to his sober friend, who claimed Brand has always been ‘transparent’ with his wife.
‘Laura is a wreck right now,’ they said. ‘She is pregnant, which is making this even more crushing for her because of the emotional toll pregnancy itself takes on a woman.
‘She believes that Russell is a great father and husband and they have been through so much. Russell has always been transparent with her.’
The allegations have sent shockwaves across the entertainment industry and have forced the BBC and Channel 4 – whom Brand worked for during the time the alleged incidents took place – to launch urgent probes.
Laura – the sister of Sky Sports host Kirsty Gallacher and daughter of golfer Bernard Gallacher, 87 – is yet to break her silence. She appears to have deleted her Instagram account.
After the news of his alleged behavior surfaced, another source revealed to DailyMail.com that Laura would have his back.
‘What Russell did was firmly in the past, way before he and Laura met. Of course, it isn’t easy, but they are determined to get through this,’ the friend said.
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