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Look up amnesty in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Amnesty (from the Greek ἀμνηστία amnestia, oblivion)^{[citation needed]} is defined as: "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of persons, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power officially forgiving certain classes of persons who are subject to trial but have not yet been convicted"^[1] It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the offense. The word has the same root as amnesia. Amnesty is more and more used to express 'freedom' and the time when prisoners can go free.

Amnesties, which in the United Kingdom may be granted by the crown or by an act of Parliament, were formerly usual on coronations and similar occasions, but are chiefly exercised towards associations of political criminals, and are sometimes granted absolutely, though more frequently there are certain specified exceptions. Thus, in the case of the earliest recorded amnesty, that of Thrasybulus at Athens, the thirty tyrants and a few others were expressly excluded from its operation; and the amnesty proclaimed on the restoration of Charles II of England did not extend to those who had taken part in the execution of his father. Other famous amnesties include: Napoleon's amnesty of March 13, 1815 from which thirteen eminent persons, including Talleyrand, were exempt; the Prussian amnesty of August 10, 1840; the general amnesty proclaimed by the emperor Franz Josef I of Austria in 1857; the general amnesty granted by President of the United States, Andrew Johnson, after the American Civil War (1861-April 9, 1865), in 1868, and the French amnesty of 1905. Amnesty in U.S. politics in 1872 meant restoring the right to vote and hold office to ex-Confederates, which was achieved by act of Congress.^[2] Those were true amnesties, pardoning past violations without changing the laws violated.

The last act of amnesty passed in Great Britain was that of 1747, which pardoned those who had taken part in the 1745 Jacobite Rising.^{[citation needed]}

Purposes[link]

An amnesty may be extended when the authority decides that bringing citizens into compliance with a law is more important than punishing them for past offenses. Amnesty after a war helps end a conflict. While laws against treason, sedition, etc. are retained to discourage future traitors during future conflicts, it makes sense to forgive past offenders, after the enemy no longer exists which had attracted their support but a significant number remains in flight from authorities. Amnesty is often used to get people to turn in contraband, as in the case of China's gun restrictions,^[3] or the Kansas City ban on pit bulls.^[4] Advantages of using amnesty may include avoiding expensive prosecutions (especially when massive numbers of violators are involved); prompting violators to come forward who might otherwise have eluded authorities; and promoting reconciliation between offenders and society. An example of the latter was the amnesty that was granted to conscientious objectors and draft dodgers in the wake of the Vietnam War in the 1970s, in an effort by President Carter to heal war wounds.^[5] (There was no longer a war to protest, and there was no longer a draft to dodge.)

An example of an argument made for amnesty for undocumented immigrants is that they would be allowed to qualify for higher paying jobs, scholarships, and other services. According to the Center for Study of Immigration Integration, if California alone were to adopt an amnesty program, they would benefit by $16 billion dollars (Pastor, 2010).^[6]

With amnesty, immigrants can seek out higher education. A RAND study found that, by the age of 30, a Mexican immigrant woman who becomes a legal resident can obtain a college degree. With a college degree she will pay $5,300 more in taxes and cost $3,900 less in government expenses each year compared to a high-school dropout with similar characteristics. Workers who lacked a high-school diploma in 2006 earned an average of only $419 per week and had an unemployment rate of 6.8 percent. In contrast, workers with a bachelor’s degree earned $962 per week and had an unemployment rate of 2.3 percent, while those with a doctorate earned $1,441 and had an unemployment rate of only 1.4 percent (Gonzales, 2010).^[7]

Changing a law is a better way to achieve whatever benefit an amnesty offers, if a nation determines that the law has made criminals of people who have done no harm, or deprived the nation of a benefit, and will in the future. Changing a law allows new conditions and requirements, offering more control over the results of any change, than amnesty.

Controversy[link]

Amnesty can at times raise questions of justice. An example was the Ugandan government's offer not to prosecute alleged war criminal Joseph Kony, in hopes that further bloodshed would be avoided.^[8] David Smock noted, "The downside of it is the impunity that it implies; that people can commit atrocities and say that they will only stop if they are given amnesty..."^[9]

A controversial issue in the United States is whether illegal immigrants should be granted some form of amnesty. It is proposed that illegal immigrants be able to come forward and immediately receive probationary status.^[10] This is criticized as being a reward for breaking the law.^[11] California Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said an amnesty program similar to the one the federal government undertook in the late 1980s would be ill-advised today. It just didn't work. "It backfired big-time. It sent the wrong message: You come here illegally, and then we go and give you amnesty. So then, the next million come and they say, 'Hey, we get amnesty, this is really terrific (Press, 2005).^[12]

Some allege that at the national level an amnesty program would cost $2.6 trillion (Rector, 2007).^[13] This would only include the costs for the first year. The Federal Government would need to hire additional workers to help register immigrants, increasing costs for labor and or facilities. It is also alleged that an amnesty program would draw far more immigrants into the U.S. to receive amnesty, so the costs would continue to increase.

Some allege that due to the large number of illegal immigrants residing in the U.S., the government had to hire outside contractors. This led to mass cases of fraudulent activity. Illegal immigrants were paying off workers to falsify information, grant amnesty for family and or friends, and providing other relevant services. In 1986 it was found that 2.6 million immigrants received amnesty fraudulently^[14] Because of the effects of the past amnesty policy, many fear that an attempt to implement another amnesty policy would be a failure. Opponents of an amnesty policy feel that a similar situation to that of 1986 would occur, with bribery and registering of unqualified immigrants.

Controversies also raise towards amnesties given to alleged perpetrators of the most serious crimes of international law (or crimes of the Jus Cogens which include genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and aggression^[15]). Courts have rejected amnesties for such crimes, such as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia^[16] and the Special Court for Sierra Leone.^[17] But scholars have suggested that there should be room for amnesties which were imperative necessities to achieve peace and accompanied by effective Truth and Reconciliation Commissions.^[18]

Related uses of the term[link]

• The term amnesty is also any initiative where individuals are encouraged to turn over illicit items to the authorities, on the understanding that they will not be prosecuted for having been in possession of those items. A common use of such amnesties is to reduce the number of firearms or other weapons in circulation. Several public schools with a zero-tolerance policy on drugs or weapons have an "amnesty box" in which students may dispose of contraband objects brought to school without consequence.

• Amnesty was used in South Africa, during the 1990s, as part of the TRC (Truth and Reconciliation)

• An amnesty law is any law that retroactively exempts a select group of people, usually military leaders and government leaders, from criminal liability for crimes committed.^[19]

• In the illegal immigration debate, allowing illegal immigrants to legally remain in the United States is often called amnesty.^[20] Some observers contend that the word amnesty is improperly applied here. One reason for this contention is that the proposals under consideration include financial penalties for illegal immigrants. Another reason is that the government's current practice is generally to deport but not to prosecute illegal immigrants and there is sometimes no legal adjudication of "guilt" to be forgiven.^[21]

• Many libraries have an amnesty week where people can return late library books and they will not be charged a fine for having them out.

• At the United States Military Academy and the United States Naval Academy, any head of state visiting the academy may ask the Superintendent to grant amnesty to members of the Corps of Cadets with outstanding punishment tours, freeing the restricted cadets from further punishment tours. In the past this was for all offenses, but in recent times only cadets with minor offenses (company board) are eligible for amnesty, while cadets with major offenses (regimental or higher board) are ineligible.

Improper uses of the term[link]

• Describing a change in a law which renders innocent actions which previously broke the law. For example, raising the road speed limit from 55 to 70 is not 'amnesty', even though those who have always driven at 65 may now do so innocently; this is simply changing the law, which is the job of lawmakers. Genuine amnesty is where a particular group of lawbreakers are pardoned for past violations which would otherwise be subject to prosecution.

• Describing as amnesty the imposition of lesser sentences or punishments that are not "more than pardon, inasmuch as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the offense".

• Often wrongly or purposely used by politicians and/or journalists to denote cases of pardon where offenses are not stricken from the record and individuals proclaimed innocent.^{[citation needed]} Instead, those individuals receive some lesser reprimand or sentence in response to an admission of guilt. Otherwise defined as an act of leniency but not amnesty, per se.

See also[link]

• Tax amnesty
• Amnesty Law

References[link]

Marco Rubio
United States Senator from Florida
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2011 Serving with Bill Nelson
Preceded by	George LeMieux
Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives
In office January 2, 2007 – January 2, 2009
Preceded by	Allan Bense
Succeeded by	Ray Sansom
Member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 111th District
In office January 25, 2000 – January 2, 2009
Preceded by	Carlos Valdes
Succeeded by	Erik Fresen
Personal details
Born	Marco Antonio Rubio (1971-05-28) May 28, 1971 (age 41) Miami, Florida
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Jeanette Dousdebes
Children	4
Alma mater	University of Florida (B.A.) University of Miami (J.D.)
Profession	Lawyer
Religion	Roman Catholic[1]
Website	www.rubio.senate.gov

Marco Antonio Rubio (born May 28, 1971) is the junior United States Senator from Florida, serving since January 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives (2007–2009).

Born to Cuban immigrants, Rubio was raised in Miami, Florida, and Las Vegas, Nevada. He attended Tarkio College and Santa Fe Community College before graduating from the University of Florida. He earned his J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law in 1996 while interning for U.S. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. In the late 1990s he served as a City Commissioner for West Miami. Rubio was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2000, representing the 111th House district. He was elected Speaker in November 2006.

Rubio announced a run for U.S. Senate in May 2009 after incumbent Republican Mel Martinez resigned. Initially trailing by double-digits against the incumbent Republican Governor Charlie Crist, Rubio eventually surpassed him in polling for the Republican nomination. Rubio won the Republican nomination after Crist opted instead for an independent run. In a three-way split against Crist and Democratic candidate Kendrick Meek, Rubio won the general election in November 2010 by a 19-point margin.

Rubio has been called the "crown prince" of the Tea Party movement.^[2][3] He has been mentioned as a potential choice for the Republican vice presidential nomination in 2012 but has said he is not interested.^[4]

Early life, education, and early political career[link]

Rubio was born in Miami, Florida,^[5] the second son and third child of Mario Rubio and Oria Garcia. His parents were Cubans who had emigrated to the United States in 1956 and were later naturalized as U.S. citizens in 1975.^[6] Rubio's family was Catholic, but from age 8 to age 11, he and his family attended The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while they lived in Las Vegas. He received his first communion as a Catholic in 1984, before moving back to Miami with his family a year later. He was confirmed and married in the Catholic Church.^{[7][1][8][9][10]}

Rubio attended South Miami Senior High School and graduated in 1989. He then attended Tarkio College for one year on a football scholarship from 1989 to 1990, before enrolling at Santa Fe Community College (now Santa Fe College). He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Florida in 1993, and his J.D. degree cum laude from the University of Miami School of Law in 1996.^[11]

While studying law, he interned for U.S. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.^[12] Marco Rubio served as a City Commissioner for West Miami before being elected to the Florida legislature.^[13]

Florida House of Representatives (2000–2009)[link]

Rubio was elected to the Florida House of Representatives for the 111th district in a special election on January 25, 2000. He won each of his re-election bids.^[14] In November 2006, he was elected Speaker of the Florida House for the 2007–09 term.

He is the author of the book 100 Innovative Ideas for Florida's Future. This book included information that Rubio compiled while traveling around the state and talking with citizens. This was done through what Rubio calls "Idearaisers". Many of the issues that he pushed for in his first year as speaker came from ideas in this book.^[15] During 2007, Marco Rubio championed a major overhaul of the Florida tax system, arguing it would reduce property taxes and decrease the size of government.^[16]

During his tenure serving as Speaker of the Florida House, Rubio shared his residence with another Florida State Representative, David Rivera. The two men co-owned a home together in Tallahassee, which later fell into foreclosure after deferring months of mortgage payments. This issue surfaced in June 2010, during Rubio's run for the US Senate but was considered resolved according to Rubio's spokesman.^[17]

U.S. Senate (2011–present)[link]

2010 election[link]

Rubio speaking at CPAC in February 2010.

On May 5, 2009, Rubio announced on his website that he planned to run for the United States Senate in 2010 for the Republican seat being vacated by Sen. Mel Martinez, who had resigned and been replaced by George LeMieux. Prior to the announcement, he had been meeting with fundraisers and supporters throughout the state.^[18] Initially trailing by double-digits against the incumbent Governor of his own party, Charlie Crist, Rubio eventually surpassed Crist in polling for the Republican nomination.^[19][20]

On April 28, 2010, Crist announced he would be running as an independent, effectively ceding the Republican nomination to Rubio.^[21] Several of Crist's top fundraisers, as well as Republican leadership, refused^[22][23] to support Crist after Rubio won the Republican nomination for Senate.^[24]

On November 2, 2010, Marco Rubio won the senatorial election with 48.9% of the vote to Crist's 29.7% and Democrat Kendrick Meek's 20.1%.^[25] On May 20, 2011, Marco Rubio visited Puerto Rico's governor, Luis Fortuño, and made a statement of wanting to "represent the Puerto Ricans" since he already felt he owed those who had voted for him in the Florida election.^[26]

Following his victory in the elections, Rubio soon became the subject of speculation as a potential GOP candidate for the presidential election of 2012.^[27][28] Rubio stated shortly after taking office that he has no interest in running for president or vice president in 2012.^[29]

Tenure[link]

Upon taking office, Rubio hired Cesar Conda, former lobbyist and "top domestic policy adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney during the first two years of the Bush administration" as his Chief of Staff.^[30]

Rubio is also a member of the Congressional Hispanic Conference.^{[citation needed]}

Rubio cosponsored a resolution, which was passed, to declare September as National Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month.^[31]

Rubio's amendment, co-sponsored by Joe Manchin (D – WV), to allow employers to be exempted from newly mandated coverage for contraception, based on religious or moral grounds by such employers, did not pass the Senate.^[32] The Obama White House singled out Rubio from the many co-sponsors of the similar Roy Blunt amendment, which also failed to pass the Senate.^[33]

Committee assignments[link]

• Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
  • Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet
  • Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard
  • Subcommittee on Science and Space
  • Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security
• Committee on Foreign Relations
  • Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps and Narcotics Affairs (Ranking Member)
  • Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs
  • Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs
  • Subcommittee on International Development and Foreign Assistance, Economic Affairs, and International Environmental Protection
• Select Committee on Intelligence
• Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

Personal life[link]

Rubio married Jeanette Dousdebes, a former Miami Dolphins cheerleader, in 1997. She is of Colombian descent, and together they have four children named Amanda, Daniella, Anthony, and Dominic.^[34] Rubio and his family live in West Miami, Florida.^[1][35] Rubio attends Catholic Mass as well as a Southern Baptist church in West Kendall, Florida.^[36][8][37]

"Son of exiles" controversy[link]

In October 2011, the St. Petersburg Times and The Washington Post reported that Rubio's previous statements that his parents were forced to leave Cuba in 1959, after Fidel Castro came to power, were incorrect as they had in fact left Cuba in 1956 during the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. According to The Washington Post, Rubio's "embellishments" resonate with many voters in Florida, who would not be as impressed by his family being economic migrants seeking a better life in the U.S. instead of political refugees from a communist regime.^[6] Rubio responded, "The real essence of my family’s story is not about the date my parents first entered the United States. Or whether they traveled back and forth between the two nations. Or even the date they left Fidel Castro’s Cuba forever and permanently settled here."^[38][39][40] According to a number of commentators within the Cuban exile community in Miami, Rubio is justified to continue to characterize himself as a son of exiles.^[40][41]

Electoral history[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Marco Rubio

	Biography portal
	Florida portal
	Politics portal

• Senator Marco Rubio official U.S. Senate website
• Marco Rubio for U.S. Senate official campaign site
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at the National Institute for Money in State Politics
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Appearances at the Internet Movie Database
• Collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Collected news and commentary at The Guardian

v t e United States Senators from Florida Class 1 Yulee Mallory, Sr. Welch Gilbert Jones Pasco Taliaferro N. Bryan Trammell Loftin Andrews Holland Chiles Mack Nelson Class 3 Westcott Morton Yulee Osborn Conover Call Mallory, Jr. W. Bryan Milton Fletcher Hill Pepper Smathers Gurney Stone Hawkins Graham Martinez LeMieux Rubio

v t e Current statewide political officials of Florida U.S. Senators Bill Nelson Marco Rubio State government Rick Scott, Governor Jennifer Carroll, Lieutenant Governor Jeff Atwater, Chief Financial Officer Pam Bondi, Attorney General Adam Putnam, Commissioner of Agriculture Senate Mike Haridopolos, President Andy Gardiner, Majority Leader Nan Rich, Minority Leader House Dean Cannon, Speaker Carlos Lopez-Cantera, Majority Leader Ronald Saunders, Minority Leader Supreme Court (appointed) Charles T. Canady, Chief Justice Barbara Pariente R. Fred Lewis Peggy Quince Ricky Polston Jorge Labarga James E.C. Perry AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY

Russell Brand
Russell Brand at the premiere for Arthur in 2011
Birth name	Russell Edward Brand[1]
Born	(1975-06-04) 4 June 1975 (age 37) Grays, Essex, England, UK
Medium	Stand-up, television, film, radio
Nationality	British
Years active	1994–present
Genres	Observational comedy
Influences	Richard Pryor,[2] Bill Hicks,[2] Peter Cook, Lenny Bruce, Tony Hancock, Jack Kerouac, Stewart Lee[3]
Spouse	Katy Perry (m. 2010–2012)
Website	russellbrand.tv

Russell Edward Brand (born 4 June 1975)^[4] is an English comedian, actor, columnist, singer, author and radio/television presenter.

Brand achieved mainstream fame in the UK in 2004 for his role as host of Big Brother spin-off, Big Brother's Big Mouth. His first major film role was in the 2007 film St Trinian's. He became known to American audiences when he got a major role in Forgetting Sarah Marshall which led to a starring role in 2010's Get Him to the Greek. He has also been a voice actor for animated films such as 2010's Despicable Me and the 2011 film Hop. He starred in the 2011 remake of the 1981 Dudley Moore film Arthur.

Brand is noted for his eccentricity and his controversies in the British media, including his dismissal from MTV for dressing up as Osama bin Laden and controversies while presenting at various award ceremonies, as well as his former substance abuse. The 2008 prank telephone calls he made to Andrew Sachs while co-hosting The Russell Brand Show with Jonathan Ross led to his resignation from the BBC and major policy changes in that organisation. His prior drug use, alcoholism and promiscuity influenced his comedic material and public image. He married American pop singer Katy Perry in October 2010, and filed for divorce from her in December 2011; the divorce was finalised in 2012.

Early life[link]

Brand was born in Orsett Hospital, Grays, Essex, England, the only child of Barbara Elizabeth (née Nichols) and photographer Ronald Henry Brand.^[5] Brand's parents separated when he was six months old, and he was raised by his mother; he has described his childhood as isolated and lonely.^[6] When Brand was seven, he was sexually abused by a tutor.^[7] When Brand was eight, his mother contracted uterine cancer; a year later she contracted breast cancer.^[8] Brand stayed with relatives while his mother underwent treatment.^[8] When Brand was 14, he suffered from bulimia nervosa. He left home at age 16 because of differences with his mother's live-in partner.^[8] His mother had lymphoma during this time and he began using illegal drugs such as cannabis, amphetamines, LSD and ecstasy.^[8][9] According to an interview on National Public Radio's Weekend Edition Saturday Brand had "a strange relationship with his father, whom he saw sporadically and who took him to visit prostitutes during a trip to the Far East".^[10] After Brand's parents divorced, his father remarried twice.^[11]

Brand attended Grays School Media Arts College, a comprehensive. He made his theatrical debut at the age of 15, playing the role of Fat Sam in a school production of Bugsy Malone, which prompted him to become an actor. He began working as an extra, and applied to study at the Italia Conti Academy. He was accepted, and Essex council funded his tuition for an introductory year, with potential funding for three additional years. Brand joined the Academy in 1991, but was expelled during his introductory year for his bad behaviour and use of drugs. Afterward, Brand had small acting roles in children's show Mud and police drama The Bill.

In 1995, Brand applied for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and Drama Centre London and was accepted to Drama Centre. He was expelled in the final term of his last year for smashing a glass over his head and then stabbing himself in the chest and arms after his hearing a criticism of his performance. After leaving Drama Centre, Brand decided to focus on comedy, and began writing material with Karl Theobald.

Career[link]

Stand-up[link]

Brand's first significant stand-up appearance was at the Hackney Empire New Act of the Year final in 2000. Although he finished fourth, his performance attracted the attention of an agent, Nigel Klarfeld of Gagged and Bound Comedy Ltd.^[12] That year, he also made his Edinburgh debut as one-third of the stand-up show Pablo Diablo's Cryptic Triptych, alongside ventriloquist Mark Felgate and Anglo-Iranian comic Shappi Khorsandi.

Brand performs stand-up at the London Roundhouse, 25 January 2008

In 2004, he took his first one-man show, the confessional Better Now to the Edinburgh Festival, giving an honest account of his heroin addiction. He returned the following year with Eroticised Humour. He launched his first nationwide tour, Shame, in 2006. Brand drew on embarrassing incidents in his own life and the tabloid press's treatment of him since he became famous. The show was released on DVD as Russell Brand: Live.

Brand appeared in a sketch and performed stand-up at the 2006 Secret Policeman's Ball. In March 2007, he co-hosted an evening of the Teenage Cancer Trust gigs with Noel Fielding. In December 2007, Brand performed for HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH Prince Philip as an act in the 2007 Royal Variety Performance.

His second nationwide tour, in 2007, was called Russell Brand: Only Joking and released on DVD as Russell Brand: Doin' Life.

Brand began performing in the US, and recorded a special for Comedy Central titled Russell Brand in New York, which aired in March 2009.^[13] Brand began touring the UK, America and Australia from January to April 2009 on a tour called Russell Brand: Scandalous.^[14] In October, a further four dates that were performed in November were added to raise money for Focus 12, the drug charity for which Brand is a patron.^[15] Russell Brand: Scandalous was released on DVD on 9 November 2009.

Presenting[link]

Brand's first presenting role came in 2000 as a video journalist on MTV. He presented Dancefloor Chart, touring nightclubs in Britain and Ibiza, and hosted the tea-time request show Select. However, Brand was fired after coming to work dressed as Osama bin Laden the day after the 11 September 2001 attacks and bringing his drug dealer to the MTV studios.^[16]

After leaving MTV, Brand starred in RE:Brand, a British documentary and comedy television programme that aimed to take a challenging look at cultural taboos. It was conceived, written, and hosted by Brand, with the help of his comic partner on many projects, Matt Morgan. The series was shown on the now-defunct digital satellite channel UK Play in 2002.

In 2004, he hosted Big Brother's Eforum on E4, a sister show to Big Brother 5. The show gave celebrity guests and the public the chance to have their say on the goings-on inside the Big Brother house. For Big Brother 6, the show's name changed to Big Brother's Big Mouth. Following Celebrity Big Brother 5, Brand said he would not return to host the Big Brother 8 series of Big Brother's Big Mouth. In a statement, Brand thanked all the producers for "taking the risk of employing an ex-junkie twerp" to front the show. Of his time presenting the show, he said, "The three years I've spent on Big Brother's Big Mouth have been an unprecedented joy".^[17]

Brand hosted a one-off special called Big Brother According to Russell Brand, in which Brand took a surreal, sideways look at Big Brother through the ages. On 8 January 2008, Brand was the fifth celebrity to "hijack" the Big Brother house,^[18] in the E4 show Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack. Brand next returned to MTV in the spring of 2006 as presenter of the chat show 1 Leicester Square, which initially aired at 8 pm on Sundays before being shifted to a post-watershed time of 10 pm on Mondays, allowing for a more adult-oriented theme. Guests have included Tom Cruise, Uma Thurman, The Mighty Boosh, and Boy George. A second series began in September 2006 on MTV UK. After Big Brother 7 finished, Brand presented a debate show called Russell Brand's Got Issues, on digital channel E4. The viewing figures for the first episode were seen as disappointing, being beaten by nearly all of E4's main multi-channel rivals despite a big publicity and promotional campaign for the show. The poor ratings prompted the network to repackage the show as The Russell Brand Show and move it to Channel 4.^[19] The first episode was broadcast on 24 November on Channel 4,^[20] and it ran for five weeks.

Brand presented the 2006 NME Awards. At the ceremony Bob Geldof, who was accepting an award from Brand, said at the podium, "Russell Brand – what a cunt", to which Brand replied, "Really it's no surprise [Geldof]'s such an expert on famine. He has after all been dining out on 'I Don't Like Mondays' for 30 years".^[21] Brand hosted the 2007 BRIT Awards and presented Oasis with an "Outstanding Contribution to Music" award at the event.^[22] He also hosted one hour of Comic Relief. On 7 July 2007, he presented at the UK leg of Live Earth at Wembley Stadium, London.

Brand speaking with Courtney Love in Los Angeles, 2008

On 12 December 2007, BBC Four aired Russell Brand On the Road, a documentary presented by Brand and Matt Morgan about the writer Jack Kerouac and his novel On the Road. Brand returned to Channel 4 to host Russell Brand's Ponderland, in which he discussed topics like childhood and science through stand-up comedy. The show first aired on 22 October 2007, and continued for the next five nights. A second series began on 30 October 2008, drawing more than a million viewers, and was broadcast every Thursday night for four weeks, plus a Christmas special that aired in December.

Brand was later announced as the host of the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards, which drew scepticism from the American media, as he was relatively unknown to the American public. Brand's stint as host of the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards was not without controversy.^[23] At one point, he said the night "marked the launch of a very new Britney Spears era", referring to it as "the resurrection of [Spears]". He also said, "If there was a female Christ, it's Britney".^[24] Brand implored the audience to elect Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and later called then–U.S. President George W. Bush "a retarded cowboy fella", who, in England, "wouldn't be trusted with scissors".^[24][25] He made several references to the purity rings worn by the Jonas Brothers, but apologised for the comments later in the show.^[26] These comments led to Brand receiving death threats by some offended viewers.^[27] Brand claimed that MTV asked him to host the 2009 awards after the ratings for the 2008 show were 20% up from the previous year.^[28] Also in 2008 Brand hosted a one off stand up comedy show called Comedy Live Presents: Russell Brand and Friends shown on Channel 4 on 25 January 2008. Brand hosted the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards on 13 September 2009, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.^[29][30] The ratings for the 2009 show were the best since the 2004 VMAs.^[31] On February 12, 2011, Brand guest hosted an episode of the hit American sketch comedy Saturday Night Live.

Acting[link]

In 2002, Brand appeared on the TV shows Cruise of the Gods and White Teeth. In 2005, he played Tommy in the BBC sitcom Blessed, which was written and directed by Young Ones creator Ben Elton. Brand auditioned for the part of Super Hans in the Channel 4 sitcom Peep Show; the role eventually went to Matt King.^[32]

In 2007, Brand appeared in Cold Blood for ITV, playing an ex-con called Ally. Brand played a recovering crack addict named Terry in the pilot for the ITV comedy The Abbey, written by Morwenna Banks.^[33]

He voiced an Earth Guardian in Robbie the Reindeer in Close Encounters of the Herd Kind.

Brand had a small role in the 2006 movie Penelope, though his first major film role was as Flash Harry in the 2007 film St Trinian's. He did not reprise the role for the sequel, St. Trinian's II: The Legend of Fritton's Gold.

He achieved American fame when he starred in the 2008 film Forgetting Sarah Marshall, in which he played Aldous Snow, the boyfriend of the title character (played by Kristen Bell). Brand received rave reviews for his performance as Snow, and he revealed the character was changed from an author to a rockstar because of his audition.^[34]

Brand starred alongside Adam Sandler in the Disney film Bedtime Stories, which was released on Christmas Day 2008.^[35]

He reprised the role of Aldous Snow for a buddy comedy titled Get Him to the Greek, co-starring Jonah Hill.^[36] He reunited with Forgetting Sarah Marshall director Nicholas Stoller and producer Judd Apatow for the film.^[36]

Brand had a role in Julie Taymor's version of William Shakespeare's The Tempest, as Trinculo.^[37][38][39]

In 2010, Brand voiced Dr. Nefario in the Universal movie Despicable Me,^[40] and is set to reprise the role in the sequel in 2013. Brand also guest starred in The Simpsons episode "Angry Dad: The Movie" as himself. Brand also starred in the 2011 live action/CGI animated film Hop, in which he voiced the film's main protagonist E.B. Hop opened at number one at the Friday box office in the US, earning $11.4 million.^[41] The same month, April 2011, he played the title character in a remake of Arthur,^[42] written by Peter Baynham.

Brand is set to star as Lonny in a movie adaption of 80s musical Rock Of Ages, which is to be released in cinemas in June 2012. His other upcoming projects include a remake of Drop Dead Fred.^[43] Brand will also appear in an Oliver Stone film.^[4] Sandler has cast Brand in another film and will produce yet another, co-written by Brand and Matt Morgan, about a con-man posing as a priest; it is tentatively titled Bad Father.^[44][45] and he is also set to star as Fred Mumford in a movie adaption of the hit 70s programme Rentaghost.

Brand has also set up his own production company with his friend Nik Linnen called 'Branded Films' and will be run from the Warner Bros studios in Burbank, California. It has been reported that the company is set up to primarily develop films for Brand himself to star in.^[46]

Radio[link]

Brand's radio career began in early 2002, when he hosted a Sunday afternoon show with Matt Morgan on London's Indie Rock station Xfm. Brand was fired from the job after reading pornographic material live on-air.^[47]

Brand co-hosted The Russell Brand Show beginning in April 2006 on BBC Radio 6 Music. In November 2006, the show transferred to BBC Radio 2 and aired on Saturdays from 9 – 11pm. The show regularly drew about 400,000 listeners.^[48] In an episode of the show broadcast on 18 October 2008, Brand and fellow Radio 2 DJ Jonathan Ross made a series of phone calls to actor Andrew Sachs that crudely discussed Sachs' granddaughter. Sunday tabloid The Mail on Sunday broke the story and regarded the phone calls as obscene. Both presenters were later suspended by the BBC due to the incident,^[49] and Brand resigned from his show.^[50][51] The BBC was later fined £150,000 by Britain's broadcast regulator for airing the calls.^[52]

Brand returned to radio when he and Noel Gallagher hosted a football talk show on 19 April 2009 for talkSPORT which led to a 250% boost in web traffic.^[53][54]

Brand returned to talkSPORT in 9 October 2010, with a Saturday night show that will last 20 weeks. The show will feature clips and back-stage recordings from his Booky Wook 2 promotional tour. Brand will be joined by a host of guests, including the likes of Noel Gallagher and Jonathan Ross.^[55]

Writings[link]

From May 2006 till May 2009, Brand wrote a column for The Guardian that focused on West Ham United and the England national football team. A collection of the columns from May 2006 through June 2007 was released on 15 November 2007 in a book titled Irons in the Fire.^[56] A second collection of the columns from June 2007 through May 2008 was released on 16 October 2008, titled Articles of Faith. The book also includes Brand interviewing Noel Gallagher, James Corden and David Baddiel about football.^[57]

Brand's autobiography, My Booky Wook, published by Hodder & Stoughton, was released on 15 November 2007 and received favourable reviews. The Observer commented that "Russell Brand's gleeful tale of drugs and debauchery in My Booky Wook puts most other celebrity memoirs to shame".^[58]

Brand signed a £1.8 million two-book deal with HarperCollins in June 2008. The first book was Articles of Faith, with the second being Booky Wook 2: This Time It's Personal released on 30 September 2010.^[59][60]

Following the 2011 London riots, Brand wrote a guest column in The Guardian, in which he criticised the Government's response to the rioters as failing to address the root causes.^[61]

Music[link]

Brand recorded a cover of The Beatles song "When I'm Sixty-Four" with composer David Arnold for the 40th anniversary of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. He contributed two songs to the soundtrack of the 2008 film Forgetting Sarah Marshall in which he appeared as Aldous Snow, lead singer of the fictional band Infant Sorrow.^[62] He reprised his role as Aldous Snow in Get Him to the Greek and recorded sixteen songs for the soundtrack.

Brand appeared on the 2010 version of 3 Lions alongside Robbie Williams.^[63] He also appeared in the music video to Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds's single AKA... What a Life! playing a drug pusher.

Personal life[link]

Russell Brand in April 2011

Katy Perry, Brand's ex-wife, in October 2011.

Brand lives in Los Angeles.^[64] He had been a vegetarian since the age of 14,^[65] and became a vegan on October 24, 2011.^[66] PETA named him 2011's Sexiest Vegetarian.^[67] He dresses in a flamboyant bohemian fashion, describing himself as looking like an "S&M Willy Wonka".^[68] He has bipolar disorder,^[69] has suffered from bulimia,^[65] and also went through a period of self-harming.^[70] Brand has shown interest in the Hare Krishna Movement and chants the Hare Krishna mantra for drug rehabilitation.^[71] During an interview with Ellen DeGeneres on her show in October 2010, Brand talked about his love of Transcendental Meditation.^[72][73]

Relationships[link]

After a string of high-profile relationships, Brand developed a reputation in the media as a ladies' man. His dating life won him The Sun's Shagger Of The Year award in 2006,^[74] 2007,^[75] and 2008. The award has been renamed "The Russell Brand Shagger of the Year Award" in honour of Brand having won three years in a row.^[76]

Brand first met American singer/songwriter Katy Perry in summer 2009 when Perry filmed a cameo for Brand's film Get Him to the Greek (although the cameo did not make it into the final cut of the film).^[77] Brand and Perry began dating after meeting again several months later in September 2009^[78] at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, where Brand, as host, remarked "Katy Perry didn't win an award and she's staying at the same hotel as me, so she's gonna need a shoulder to cry on. So in a way, I'm the real winner tonight." Perry says she threw a bottle of water at Brand to get his attention and then they went clubbing together the same night.^[79] The couple became engaged in December 2009 when Brand proposed to Perry while on a holiday in India.^[80][81][82] The couple married on 23 October 2010 in a traditional Hindu ceremony, near the Ranthambhore tiger sanctuary in Rajasthan, India, the same location where Brand proposed.^[83][84] After 14 months of marriage, Brand filed for divorce from Perry on 30 December 2011 in Los Angeles, citing irreconcilable differences.^[85][86] After Brand and Perry reached an agreement on financial issues, a judge granted the divorce request in February 2012; however the divorce will not become effective until July 2012 due to California law requiring a six-month wait.^[87]