The controversy surrounding comedian and podcaster Russell Brand continues to dominate the conversation. A number of media outlets recently published reports in which four women accuse him of sexually abusing or raping them. These decade-old allegations surfaced as Brand has built a prominent platform in the digital space and has been an outspoken voice against the establishment and the systems that influence society.

The allegations are now out in the ether, with elite media outlets continuing to repeat the accusations and societal forces trying to silence his content on various platforms. Now, someone has publicly come to his defense: Tali De Mar, one of Brand’s former lovers, who was involved with him from 2012 to 2013.

In an interview published on Monday, De Mar, who used to be a burlesque performer, recounted her experience with the podcaster and explained that his true personality does not resemble the allegations being levied against him. Her account portrays Brand as an individual struggling to overcome his addiction and other problems. Indeed, Brand has been outspoken about his battle to defeat his addiction to drugs.

“I witnessed and experienced him being very honest with me, very transparent, things that would embarrass other people. He was always someone that wore his heart on his sleeve, and his truth was always what he spoke,” De Mar said.

She continued:

“He's an easy scapegoat in this situation because everybody knows, because he's been honest about it, he's written about it, he's played the characters, which I also think is what is damning him ultimately because it's easy to believe for the brainwashed public to think: ‘Well, I saw him in a movie act like that, and I saw him on a talk show act like that. So that must be who he is.’”

At one point in the interview, the host, Colonel Kurtz, asks straight out how Russell Brand treats women. “Did you ever experience any of what you would term abuse from him or any sexual assault or anything like that?” she asked.

De Mar responded, “No, absolutely not. Absolutely not.”

She continued:

I never recognized, witnessed, or experienced any abusive, violent, or manipulative energy or behavior with Russell sexually or anything peripheral within that whole scope of whatever people are saying. I did not experience witness any of that. It was completely consensual. I can tell you, Russell did not need to force himself on anyone. If someone didn't want to have sex with him, he would just call somebody else, literally. I'm telling you; he had plenty of women that he could have called upon. He did not need to force anybody. So, I absolutely never, never experienced or saw him treat me or anyone or any other woman around me in that way. And I was in scenarios where there were other women around, and there was nothing abusive.

The host then asked what De Mar thought of the anonymous allegations and whether she believed them.

De Mar responded, explaining that Brand “is having to fight ghosts, faceless, nameless people that we don’t know, first of all, if they exist.”

She continued:

“I truly feel if someone is going to accuse someone of anything, especially something so horrid and malicious as rape and sexual assault, that they must also come forward to be spoken to. This is not okay, and this is how MeToo has gotten completely out of control. This is dangerous for women who are truly being abused. This is dangerous for women who are truly being raped, and there are plenty of them out there.”

Check out the interview below: