Russell Brand went viral Friday after an awkward interview with Piers Morgan, who asked him to cite a Bible passage he read in court — resulting in over a minute of dead air as the embattled comedian failed to find it.
“Can I go back to asking a question about your Bible?” Morgan asked during Friday’s episode of “Piers Morgan Uncensored.” “Was that the one you took into court? Okay. What was your thinking of taking it into court and — you were seen looking at some passages — what were the relevant passages for you?”
Brand — who was observed holding a copy of the Bible in February while pleading not guilty to new charges of rape and sexual assault — thanked Morgan for the question and began flipping through the holy book, all while muttering to himself about needing to be “chill.”
Yet, the controversial celebrity appeared to struggle to find a passage, but noted it was from Isaiah. “It says here … the verse that I was looking at that day was – not this. I can’t actually find the verse that I had that day, but this is good enough,” Brand noted as Morgan looked silently on. “This is from Isaiah 12. ‘I will praise you, Lord. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me.’”
It didn’t take long for this moment to be clipped and put on the internet, with many calling the exchange “painful” and “awkward.”
“Brutal,” one X user commented. “How do you even recover from this?” Another chimed in with, “This is so painful to watch. Piers Morgan asked Russell Brand to read the passages that were relevant to him when he brought his Bible into court.”
A third added: “What followed may be one of the most painfully awkward exchanges you’ll see this week.”
Yet, a fourth got a real chuckle out of the editing from Morgan’s team, writing, “Cameraman was absolute legend for the split screen.”
Watch the viral exchange for yourself below.
Brand is currently waiting to begin a trial for rape and sexual assault overseas. He was initially charged with five counts of rape and sexual assault against four women in April 2025: two counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault. The comedian was later charged with an additional count each of rape and sexual assault in December, which he pleaded not guilty to.
The investigation began in September 2023 when his alleged victims publicly spoke out about incidents that supposedly took place between 2006 and 2013 (the two newer charges are for incidents that allegedly took place in 2009).
“I’ve always told you guys that when I was young and single before I had my wife and family — who are just out of shot over there, my beautiful children — I was a fool, man. I was a fool before I lived in the light of the Lord,” Brand said in a video message at the time of the allegations. “I was a drug addict, a sex addict and an imbecile — but what I never was a rapist. I’ve never engaged in non-consensual activity. I pray that you can see that by looking in my eyes.”
The trial is set for Oct. 12 after being postponed back in March.
