Joanne McNally lauds 'hero' Katherine Ryan for calling out Russell Brand after she accused him of being 'sexual predator' before he was exposed

Joanne McNally has praised fellow comedian Katherine Ryan for calling out Russell Brand after she accused him of being a 'sexual predator' before he was exposed.

Brand, 51, was sentenced to ten years and six months in prison on Monday after a jury convicted him of offences committed between 2004 and 2009. 

Speaking on the latest episode of My Therapist Ghosted Me podcast which she hosts with Vogue Williams, Joanne called Katherine 'our hero amongst women'.

Katherine, 43, was one of the first celebrities to publicly raise concerns about Brand's sexual behaviour and the first star to confront him to his face, almost a decade ago.

The comedians were both judges on Comedy Central's Roast Battle in 2018, when Ryan repeatedly called him a 'sexual predator' on camera. 

But the remarks were cut by producers and never broadcast, and Brand left the show after six episodes. 

Praising Katherine's bravery for calling out the disgraced comedian, Joanne said: 'What I will say is our hero amongst women, Katherine Ryan. She called him out as much as she possibly could. 

Joanne McNally, 43, has praised fellow comedian Katherine Ryan for calling out Russell Brand after she accused him of being a 'sexual predator' before he was exposed

Katherine, 43, was one of the first celebrities to publicly raise concerns about Brand's sexual behaviour and the first star to confront him to his face, almost a decade ago

'She [Katherine] certainly did her very best to flag, point the finger, make people aware who wouldn't have been aware, who maybe weren't in the industry.'

Vogue continued: 'Katherine Ryan is so sound, she was doing all that stuff when like she was trying not to get herself in in hot legal water as well while also actually like saying who it was.'

'I have all the love and respect for Katherine Ryan,' the Celebrity Traitors star, 43, added.

In 2022, Katherine spoke out again and claimed in an interview with Louis Theroux that she knew of a 'predator' working in the entertainment industry and that it was an 'open secret' who it was.

She said she could not name the male comic because it would be a 'litigious minefield', but indicated she had called the individual a 'predator' to 'his face', prompting widespread speculation she was referring to Brand.

A year later, in 2023, she spoke at a royal Television Society event as several women accused Brand of rape, sexual abuse and degrading behaviour. Referring to the controversy, Katherine made a pointed comment that there was an 'elephant in the room', before insisting she was joking about her own weight.

Weeks later she said there was a 'dangerous comic' working in British showbusiness during an appearance on Desert Island Discs where she said she had 'let him know under no uncertain terms what I think of him'.

Reflecting on Brand's guilty verdicts on her podcast Telling Everybody Everything, Katherine said: 'It really made me feel quite dysregulated again, caught off guard, emotional and in awe of the survivors, who also had nothing to gain.

'They came forward despite Russell Brand having fame, power, money and a legion of fans ready to attack them.'

Speaking on the latest episode of My Therapist Ghosted Me podcast which she hosts with Vogue Williams (pictured), Joanne called Katherine 'our hero amongst women'

Joanne is seen alongside Katherine in July

She added: 'I will never be someone who, like, dances on graves. There has been some justice done today. There's a level of relief, but there's grief alongside relief. 

'Everything's nuanced, and it was proved in court that a terrible thing happened, and that means that a terrible thing happened.

'I just think again and again about people who have been hurt, and who have to carry that, who've carried that around long enough, and will continue to carry that in some way, regardless of what justice is done.

'This verdict came because women were hurt, and I worry as well about what happens next.

'Because he's obviously spent a long time cultivating this idea that the establishment have invented these claims against him, and he's martyred himself to a growing audience who really still think that it is the courageous survivors who are the villains in this story.

'I just… I don't know if you can podcast from jail. I hope not.'

She continued: 'Today there are a lot of women speaking, like the way we always do, privately and quietly, the way we've learned to do, to avoid being attacked and to keep each other safe, and a lot of those women feel a very nuanced mix of emotions today.'

The Daily Mail previously reported how Ryan repeatedly fired allegations on-camera during the filming of Roast Battle that Brand sexually assaulted women.

Her comments did not make the aired show, according to Deadline.

Katherine spoke out many times and claimed in an interview that she knew of a 'predator' working in the entertainment industry and that it was an 'open secret' who it was 

Brand was allegedly 'absolutely furious' after being targeted by Katherine on the show, a source told the paper. 

Her confrontations allegedly revealed how comedians in the industry were openly talking about Brand's sexual and predatory behaviour. 

Two other sources claimed he demanded producers protect him from other panellists making such comments. Brand subsequently featured on Roast Battle for one series. 

Katherine also previously claimed to have told a comedian that he was a sexual predator and that accusations against him were an 'open secret'.

The comedian and writer told Louis Theroux that she had confronted the unnamed man while they worked together on a TV show in front of the audience 'again and again'. 

In her chat with Theroux, Katherine claimed she had received criticism afterwards for not naming the person in question in public, but said just talking about him was a 'litigious minefield' as he had 'very good lawyers'.

The comedian added that it was 'not my story to tell' but that she believed the accusations as the sources were 'very credible'.