It’s no secret that the investors behind Catholic prayer and meditation app Hallow have deep pockets. A $7 million Super Bowl commercial starring Mark Wahlberg and Jonathan Roomy showed just how deep America’s pockets are. But what’s less clear is the direction of Hallow, Inc.’s moral compass. Earlier this year, Hallow made the perplexing decision to promote their product on a podcast. Social media The platform of former comedian turned conspiracy theorist and alleged rapist Russell Brand.
The brand is currently under investigation by the Metropolitan Police on suspicion of serious sexual misconduct, including rape. He has been accused by 11 women of non-consensual sexual touching, 10 of whom filed suit in the UK and another in New York. Brand not only denies these accusations, but dismisses them as a conspiracy against him.
What makes a Catholic prayer and meditation app’s decision to promote a brand even more puzzling is that the brand is not Catholic. In recent social media posts, Brand discusses which church to be baptized in Because he is undecided. As of the beginning of this year, the brand’s Instagram Reels, while very spiritual in nature, were Christian mysticism, perhaps pagan.
For nearly two decades, the comedian has promoted esoteric ideas and Eastern religions, blended with the spirituality of 12-step programs. Brand himself specifically credits Transcendental Meditation for his sobriety journey, and hosted a Transcendental Meditation podcast until the end of 2023.
Prior to 2024, the brand’s social media content rarely mentioned Christ, but the brand has described itself as a believer, instead posting many videos about Transcendental Meditation and yoga in between political commentary. It was featured. The brand also hosts an annual alcohol-free Mindfulness Festival featuring talks, yoga, meditation, wild swimming and other activities.
It is unclear when exactly Brando became interested in Catholicism. In October 2010, Russell Brand married pop star Katy Perry in a Hindu ceremony in India. The marriage lasted only 14 months and ended in divorce after Brando dumped Perry via text message. The two people who may be most surprised by Brando’s sudden Christian fervor are Perry’s parents.
One of the factors in the divorce was Brando’s persistent attacks on their evangelical Christian beliefs. Perry’s father was a Christian minister who didn’t invite the former comedian to his family’s events because he couldn’t be polite. Afterward, Ms. Perry said she “thanks God every day” for her marriage’s divorce, even though her mother believes her divorce was a grave sin.
In the 2000s, Brando was known for his shock jock antics and risqué stand-up comedy routines on British radio. In one stand-up comedy episode, she joked that Brando enjoyed strangling women during sex acts, until the women cried so much that their mascara ran down their faces.
In 2008, while working for British public broadcaster BBC Radio, Mr. Brand made prank calls to actor Andrew Sachs and left a series of lewd voicemail messages about sexual encounters with the actor’s granddaughter. Following a public outcry, the BBC and Brand apologized, and Brand subsequently quit the show.
Comedian Andrew Sloss said rumors of Brando’s private misconduct were widespread in British comedy circles. In 2023, a long-running joint investigation by The Sunday Times and Channel 4 Dispatch debunked these rumors.
In recent years, Brand has reinvented himself as an online conspiracy theorist, as fewer and fewer mainstream British broadcasters have sought to employ him. He is now a vocal critic of the mainstream media on his own channel, broadcasting almost daily on issues such as vaccines, Trump, and Russia.
Brand’s content, which has alienated British audiences, is now primarily aimed at a new American audience unfamiliar with his past and reputation. He positions himself as a “truth teller” and a threat to the establishment. However, it is unclear what kind of facility it is. Nevertheless, the size of his fan base is impressive, with the brand to date garnering him nearly 4 million followers on Instagram and his YouTube subscriber count approaching his 7 million. Masu.
Brand’s interest in Christianity appears to be inversely correlated with his declining career in mainstream media. As his broadcast channel’s audience grew and became more American, the relationship between his fans and the belief system responsible for his sobriety became increasingly strained.
Commenters on his Instagram page didn’t hesitate to criticize the content of his reels, which are filled with New Age spirituality and esoteric Eastern mysticism. Scrutinizing the comments, it’s not hard to find many voices urging brands to abandon paganism and New Age and return to Christ.
Brando’s eclectic relationship with Christianity appears to be based on his experience in a 12-step program. But the brand’s pivot to Catholicism was more recent, in January of this year. The timing was also fortuitous for the brand to promote his Hallow’s Lenten Prayer40 program.
American viewers don’t seem to be very aware that an investigation into his sexual behavior is underway, but Hollow executives didn’t know about it before they decided to enter into a commercial relationship with him. It is unclear whether it was.
When I ask for clarification on whether Hallow’s press team was aware of an ongoing investigation into the brand before entering into a commercial relationship with the brand, the response is typically The good reporting team declined to respond.
Why are brands so eager to reach their audiences that they are willing to ignore the fact that brands may still be indicted and on trial for rape in the UK?
Hallow is well known for its penchant for recruiting “spiritual influencers” and celebrities to promote its products. In response to an email inquiry last month asking how Hallow compensates its contributors, CEO Alex Jones replied: And be generous, whether it’s through payments, donations, or other forms of partnership. ”
One such partner is Father Michael Schmitz of the Diocese of Duluth, Minnesota. He speaks on the app and has designed an entire Lenten sermon series following the Hallows Pray40 Lenten program centered around Fr.Walter Ciszek’s books he guides me.
Father Schmitz and the Duluth Diocese Press Office declined to comment on questions about the nature of Father Schmitz’s commercial relationship with Harrow.
It may seem in bad taste for a Catholic priest to write a Lenten sermon as part of a commercial partnership with a for-profit company in exchange for compensation or donations. However, others may see it as done for a good purpose. Notably, Father Schmitz is overseeing a major expansion of the Mission Building at the University of Minnesota, Duluth.
In an Instagram reel published on Good Friday, Brand brandished a fake skull while talking about sacrifice and praising Father Schmitz. Since the allegations arose, Brand has made every effort to compare himself to the suffering Christ without directly admitting his wrongdoing.
That doesn’t mean there’s no redemption. One of Hallow’s main cheerleaders is actor Mark Wahlberg, a convicted felon. The difference between Wahlberg and Brando is that Wahlberg has taken full responsibility for his past actions, apologized, and shown that he has grown over the years. There is a pattern of accountability and growth in Mr. Wahlberg’s actions that Mr. Brand has so far avoided, but Mr. Brand still denies the allegations as a conspiracy.
Hallow’s commercial relationship with the brand while the investigation into the sexual assault allegations is still ongoing reeks of bad taste, bad judgment and disrespect for the feelings of the victims. The Catholic community is often, and rightly, accused of minimizing calls for justice from victims of sexual assault. Admittedly, many people would find it annoying that Catholic media would involve a former comedian turned conspiracy theorist who is under investigation for rape in promoting their app. This article sends a particularly cruel message to victims of sexual assault. “Catholic culture still doesn’t care about rape, and we don’t care about you.”
Image: by appolinar – Russell Brand doing comedy, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12217806
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Sarah Scarlett Wilson was born and raised in the Middle East and studied politics and international relations at Royal Holloway, University of London. She currently works as a journalist and author.
