Health group defends convicted rapist amid past allegations

A convicted rapist has become a central figure in one of the most influential health advocacy movements in the United States, despite multiple allegations against him that emerged years before his conviction. Russell Brand, the British comedian and activist, has served as a keynote speaker at Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) summits, appeared alongside top health officials, and even joined conference calls naked from a bathtub—all while facing rape charges that resulted in a 10.5-year prison sentence in 2026.

The movement’s founder, Tony Lyons, publicly defended Brand during his trial, describing him as “vilified, persecuted, deplatformed, demonetized, censored, prosecuted.” After Brand’s conviction, MAHA Action Inc. published a 3,700-word defense in its newsletter, portraying the legal outcome as part of a broader pattern of persecution.

The allegations against Brand did not surface suddenly. In 2023, three British news organizations jointly published an investigative report detailing sexual assault claims against him. Yet MAHA continued to platform him even after he was charged in April and December 2025, inviting him to share stages with figures such as Mehmet Oz, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator, and Jay Bhattacharya, who has said he wants the NIH to become “the research arm of MAHA.”

At the October 2026 MAHA Summit, Oz joked about Brand’s lateness, saying he was backstage “hugging the Secretary of Agriculture,” to which Brand replied, “She initiated that contact, I should make clear, doctor!” Holly Baxter of The Independent noted that the exchange looks bad now, but “it should’ve looked bad then, when the court case was on the horizon.”

Tyson, Tate, and MAHA’s toxic celebrity endorsements

Brand is not the only controversial figure MAHA has promoted. The movement made Mike Tyson, another convicted rapist who said in 1989 that he enjoyed hurting women, the face of its healthy eating campaign. Bhattacharya posted a photo of himself with a Tyson face tattoo, captioned “Be like Mike Tyson.” Meanwhile, Donald Trump Jr., a vocal MAHA supporter, has publicly defended Andrew Tate, a manosphere leader facing extradition on charges including rape and sex trafficking.

MAHA’s political arm has also backed Stephen Miller, a key architect of the Trump administration’s family separation policies and ICE’s detention tactics. After Miller was appointed as President Trump’s chief of staff in November 2026, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. praised the move, calling him “the strongest MAHA supporter in the administration.” Kennedy has repeatedly defended ICE’s actions, including during an appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast, where he justified the agency’s treatment of undocumented immigrants.

Kennedy’s HHS cuts harm children and immigrants

Under Kennedy’s leadership, the Department of Health and Human Services has refused to renew contracts for legal representation for unaccompanied immigrant children, leaving nearly 90% of them in unlicensed shelters in Texas. Federal law requires these children receive legal counsel, fair hearings, and age-appropriate accommodations—but Kennedy’s department has ignored these requirements, citing concerns about “disease vectors” and pushing anti-immigrant rhetoric.

The movement’s financial losses in the 2026 midterm elections have not prompted any shift in its alliances. Kennedy’s policies have already stripped health insurance from 15 million people and cut food assistance for 2 million children, while dismantling research programs targeting health disparities in marginalized communities. Grassroots supporters of the movement remain “doggedly loyal,” according to Beth Mole of Ars Technica, despite Kennedy’s history of working with Trump to implement policies widely viewed as violent and eugenicist.