Instagram/@russellbrand
Russell Brand recently said an undeniable statement to Whoopi Goldberg, and the internet exploded in the aftermath. The one’s really calling out Goldberg for being taken aback by Trump accusing Obama of treason, saying that for years the media loudly screamed “Russiagate” without an ounce of proof.
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That clip just exemplifies the breaking down of it: ‘If you disagreed with Trump doing it to Obama, it has to be because of the principle. That’s the problem. No one has any principles. They just have favorites.’ The rest of the clip sees Brand throwing more spears at all the one-way politics.
With the post going viral on Instagram, users joined this bandwagon of accusing Whoopi of selective amnesia. One really on-point comment read, “100% correct. And Obama made the accusation in full knowledge that it wasn’t true. Whoopi has no principles whatsoever.” Others weren’t quite kind, with one just saying, “Can’t stand to hear or see her.”
Division of opinions came into fold. One disagreed: “All due respect, this is a little different than Russiagate…” And here, the mini-debate sparked in the comments, one coming forth to rebut, “It’s the exact same allegation. I mean, to the letter.”
Things got spicy when a commenter called Obama a “race hustling grifter,” which sent the thread into wild uproars, and one spectator deemed a comment-worthy event to be reported to Instagram for being “unschooled.” Because nothing screams polite dialogue like squealing to the social media hall monitors.
The craziest one? “Yep needs arrested treason Military arrest and shot.” No context. No explanation. Just outright execution. Such a statement would have sent Twitter into meltdown.
Not long thereafter, Brand himself started catching stray bullets. One critic scorned him as “a chameleon with a podcast — sex addict, socialist, spiritual guru, Christian conservative… whatever keeps the rent paid.” Ouch.
Entirely such messes bring the very thing Brand is going for—the fact that politics has become outright tribalism. No concern for consistency; it is just based on whether or not their team gets points for it. That murderous fakerfuck outrage of Goldberg is just another example.
Also, on a worrying note, the parallel with the Russiagate accusations does strike too near home. For years every mainstream outlet was peddling this collusion narrative 24/7. Now the shoe is on the other foot? Radio silence, or “gaseous gasps” in Whoopi’s case.
The post set the scene for a riot on Instagram, gathering hundreds of reactions and cementing that Brand knows how to stir the pot. Whether you love or hate him, wanting to brand him a barely disguised grifter, one thing is for certain, he’s not wrong.
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And we all know the story. People feign shock every time the other side lands with the same tactics they’ve thrown for years. Only difference today? More voices are calling it out. And that leads the way, messy as it may be.