14 DAY TRIAL // Those of you who are familiar with Russell Brand know that he often tackles political issues in his satires and skits, but he also is an outspoken criticizer of the political class and the election system in general. He has often been heard saying that voting is a waste of time.
Now The Independent is claiming that the British comedian is making a run for office, as he has told his friends that he wants to unseat Boris Johnson, who is the current mayor of London, at the next elections in 2016.
The media couldn't get the comedian to comment on the issue but friends claim he's preparing his campaign
The British media quickly contacted the comedian's camp, eager to get an official position that would offer more details into what could be a very controversial situation. Unfortunately, all they got was the very dry “we are not commenting.”
Thought it's hard to believe, Brand's political campaign is said to be based on an “anti-politics” stance which is basically all about blasting the political class and system out of the water. The comedian and actor seems to be relying on the world's poor opinion of the political system and of politicians in general, and he hopes that will give him enough of an edge to win the elections.
Russell's views on most matters are labeled as "extreme"
Some of Brand's views are quite extreme and the newspaper quotes from his recent book which is called “Revolution” and which illustrates some of his concepts on a series of important questions.
For example, Brand claims that he simply “can't get [his] head around economics,” that he is in support of “collectives” and totally against fracking, which he wants to ban altogether, much like the entire British monarchy which he finds useless.
Over the years, the controversial comedian has often made headlines with equally outrageous standings on several “hot” topics. He has called for more compassionate treatment of drug addicts, as well as claiming that he is “open-minded” to the possibility that the US government is behind the 9/11 attacks.
Such statements have made to label him as an extremist, but nonetheless, Brand must be saying something right or at least something that echoes with the minds of people, because he's managed to get a large following on social media websites like Twitter, where he boasts almost 8 and a half million followers.
It will be interesting to see how Brand is going to approach the whole campaign since he was often heard saying that he never goes to vote because the current political system is flawed and skewed in such a way that it benefits only the rich.