Are we allowed to talk about the women who flung themselves at Russell Brand?

I’ve been told it’s impossible to write this article. I’ve been told it will be misunderstood, either deliberately or carelessly. I’ve been told it will result in me being accused of victim-blaming or being an apologist for rape. So let me get it out of the way from the start. Rape is an appalling crime which leaves its victims with a life sentence of trauma.

More than that, the punishment I’d dish out if anyone attacked my daughters that way would be far less civilised than any prison sentence the courts could give. But as Russell Brand is today put behind bars for rape and sexual assault, are we allowed to talk about the promiscuous culture that allowed him to get away with it for so long, and the women who threw themselves at him?

For years, Brand was celebrated precisely because he was outrageous, sexually uninhibited and seemingly irresistible to women. The entertainment industry made a virtue of his promiscuity. Television programmes laughed along, journalists indulged him, and audiences were encouraged to regard his sexual exploits as part of his comic genius.