Somehow, I think Russell Brand will be OK

Russell Brand is out of a job. Here's a video clip of his apology and resignation, and quite a nice, sincere one it is, too. He did screw up, but the man does have an endearing charm about him. Kind of like a dog that will pee on your leg, then give you an innocent look with those big, sad eyes, and you don't know whether to be mad or charmed. Which is to say, Brand may be down, but don't count him out quite yet.

The British actor/comedian/radio and TV host quit a BBC radio show after creating a big stir by making some rather rude phone calls to an elderly actor about the man's burlesque-queen granddaughter (whom Brand apparently did have a relationship with at one time, and who called for him to get the ax). His partner in crime, Jonathan Ross, got suspended.

Brand is a huge star in the UK, and is gaining ground in the States, where he's known as a host of the MTV awards and a star of the movie "Forgetting Sarah Marshall". So while he reportedly has a $12 million a year contract with the BBC, I'm sure he'll be fine if that cash cow dries up for him.

At least I hope he will be; I'm sure his bills for hair gel, eyeliner, and skin-tight black jeans must be over the six-figure range, and it simply wouldn't do for him to be too broke to maintain that spiky haired rocker look. I kinda dig it.

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Are Russell Brand & Jonathan Ross naughty Brit boys?

British celebs Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross are in hot water over a series of phone messages they left for 78-year-old actor Andrew Sachs (the guy who played waiter Manuel on Fawlty Towers) during a BBC radio show. They got down and dirty, making comments involving Brand having sex with the actor's 23-year-old granddaughter, Georgina Baillie. Baillie is a member of the burlesque dance group the Satanic Sluts and goes by the moniker "Voluptua."

Now, just because she "perform[s] violent, horrific and sexy burlesque shows" (according to her Myspace page) doesn't mean she deserves to be talked about so rudely on the radio, even on the off chance she did get freaky with Brand (a possibility as they do know each other and have professed a love of all things carnal). And it certainly doesn't mean her 75-year-old paw-paw should get raunchy messages about her on his machine.

The whole issue is a bit more touchy because tax money funds the BBC, so it's a bit of a scandal when men who are paid millions of British pounds in taxpayers' money say really crass things to an old man about his granddaughter. That's a bit of an oopsy.

I'm not sure which side of the fence I'm on. Celebrities saying naughty things to a man about his granddaugther (and later suggesting he might kill himself after hearing them)? I'm gonna have to say that's a no-no. But then again, anyone who's heard Russell Brand knows he can go a bit overboard - that's what he's paid for. He's actually a good comic, and of a sort that could very possibly break the American market - the humor of most comics in the UK doesn't translate well, but Brand's does. But he likes to be a bit of the Howard-Stern-shock-jock of England at times, and the thing about going out on a limb is that sometimes it breaks off beneath you. I don't really know much about Jonathan Ross; he's huge in the UK, though. I'm guessing he gets paid to be outrageous, too.

So, were these guys just earning their paychecks? Or did they cross a line? Do they deserve to be fired, as some politicians have demanded? I think maybe a reprimand would suffice, as firing them for being outrageous is a bit like firing a chef for cooking. But then again, if the chef ruins your dinner party with a crap meal .... hmm. I don't think this was a hanging offence, though it would've been closer to one if the young lady in question were a private citizen rather than someone who is a bit of a public figure who also is not exactly engaged in a demure line of work. What do you think?

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