Rumors of Russell Brand's Death Are All Over X — Are They True?

Rumors that a celebrity has died circulate on the internet pretty regularly. Usually, those rumors are started by a random account that is trying to farm engagement and get people to share a story that is untrue. Russell Brand is the latest celebrity to find themselves subject to death rumors, but not for the usual reasons.

Instead, it's because former deputy director of the FBI Dan Bongino shared what seemed like a moving tribute to Russell, but was actually about Charlie Kirk. Here's what we know about the confusion.

There is no evidence that Russell Brand has died. The speculation that he died stems from a post from Dan Bongino on X (formerly known as Twitter) in which he paid tribute to Charlie Kirk, but didn't include Charlie's name and used a pretty misleading photo.

"There won’t be another. One of the saddest days of my life. He was just different. And everyone who knew him, knew it. May God rest your soul," he wrote over a post that featured an image of Russell talking with Charlie.

Because Charlie does not seem to be the focus of the image, many immediately began wondering if Russell Brand had died and Dan was paying tribute to him. That doesn't appear to be the case, but given that this tribute to Charlie came a full six months after his death, it's understandable that people thought that Dan might have posted it because of the other person in the image.

The simplest explanation here, though, is that Charlie was the focus of Dan's post, and the confusion was entirely unintentional. There has been no other evidence to suggest that Russell has died, and while it's true that he might receive some pretty loving posts from those on the right when he does, it doesn't seem like the comedian and former movie star has died, or is even in any sort of mortal peril.

Although he was a mainstream comedy star roughly 15 years ago, more recently, Russell has moved to the far right. He started his career as an anti-establishment socialist, but has since transitioned to a more conservative, Christian worldview. This transition is a huge part of the reason that he was on Charlie Kirk's podcast in the first place, and it's also why he's made appearances at explicitly political events in more recent years.

This transition into a foot soldier for the Republican Party has come at the expense of more widespread appeal, but whether it's because he believes in what he's saying or simply decided the trade-off was worth it, Russell is now a pretty explicitly political figure.

It made some degree of sense that Dan Bongino, a fellow podcaster who runs in conservative circles, might have paid tribute to Russell following the news of his death. Russell is very much alive and well, though, and there's no reason to suspect that will change any time soon.