Kristen Bell warned her co-star Russell Brand not to ‘mess with me’ on the set of Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
The actress, 43, starred as the titular Sarah Marshall in the 2008 comedy film, while Russell, 48, played her boyfriend Aldous Snow.
The comedian has been accused of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse by four women during the peak of his fame, following a joint investigation by The Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4 Dispatches.
The explosive allegations are said to have taken place between 2006 and 2013, while Russell was a presenter for BBC Radio 2 and Channel 4. He has denied the claims.
During press for the film, which also stars Mila Kunis and Jason Segel, in 2008, Kirsten said: ‘He didn’t try to mess with me or get in my pants. He knew I would lop his n**s off.’
Made her feelings clear: Kristen Bell warned her co-star Russell Brand not to ‘mess with me’ on the set of Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Co-stars: The actress, 43, starred as the titular Sarah Marshall in the 2008 comedy film, while Russell, 48, played her boyfriend Aldous Snow
In another interview, she said that she had ‘intimidated’ Russell from the start and threatened him not to try anything.
She said: ‘I made it really clear from the beginning that I would sock him in the b***s if he tried anything. So he was intimidated.’
However, Kristen later admitted that she ‘loved’ working with Russell on the film.
She acknowledged: ‘I may be the only woman in the world who would shout that from the rooftops, but I did.’
Speaking about Kristen after Forgetting Sarah Marshall came out, Russell said she would be ‘the perfect mate’ for him.
He said: ‘Naturally Kristen would be the perfect woman for me. And the perfect guy, that’s still me.’
The Times and Sunday Times claim ‘several women’ have come forward with undisclosed allegations about Brand’s behaviour during the early 2000s in wake of their joint investigation with Channel 4 which was published on Saturday.
The latest allegations – which the newspaper says have not been investigated, but will now be ‘rigorously checked’ – follow accusations from four women, including one who claims she was sexually assaulted by Brand during a three-month relationship with him when she was 16 and still at school.
Warning: During press for the film in 2008, Kirsten said: ‘He didn’t try to mess with me or get in my pants. He knew I would lop his n**s off’
Kept him at bay: In another interview, she said that she had ‘intimidated’ Russell from the start and threatened him not to try anything
The BBC is now also facing ‘urgent questions’ after it was claimed that Brand, 48, used his company-provided car service to pick the girl up from school.
It comes as both BBC and Channel 4 have launched internal investigations into separate accusations of predatory behaviour by Brand towards staff and audience members during the time of his employment.
Channel 4 has since removed all programmes linked to Brand from its website, including episodes of The Great British Bake Off and Big Brother’s Big Mouth in which he was featured, The Daily Telegraph reported.
Netflix has since been urged to remove his comedy special, titled Re:Birth, from its streaming catalogue.
The maverick actor and stand-up comic has strenuously denied any wrongdoing and blamed the ‘mainstream media’ for the ‘litany of astonishing, rather baroque attacks’.
BBC chiefs scrambled to investigate Brand last night after the comedian was accused of rape.
Their probe was announced minutes before Scotland Yard piled on the pressure by announcing that detectives would like to speak to the comedian’s alleged victims.
Brand, a former star of the BBC and Channel 4, faces bombshell claims from women alleging sexual assaults, abuse and predatory behaviour – including one who was a 16-year-old schoolgirl.
Among the complaints raised in the investigation were allegations by one businesswoman, who alleged Brand raped her when she refused a threesome while another said she was 16 when he choked her during a sexual act.
The woman, referred to as Alice to protect her identity, who claims she was sexually assaulted by Brand as a 16-year-old, said he took her virginity.
She alleges he was ‘preoccupied’ with her being ‘innocent and pure’, and often referred to her as ‘The Child’.
Alice described his behaviour towards her as ‘grooming’ as Brand would allegedly provide her with scripts on how to deceive her parents into allowing her to visit him. She also claimed he would send his ‘BBC car’ to her secondary school to pick her up.
‘The first time I used it, he told me it was booked to take him to his radio show but he had a friend taking him instead so I should use that car,’ she told The Times.
She claimed the chauffeur once took her from Brand’s home to her grandmother’s house and that on a separate occasion the same car ‘picked me up from school’.
Alice added: ‘It was the same car…I knew that that was a BBC car.’
The BBC did not initially commit to an inquiry but amid the growing outcry, it shifted its position last night and a spokesman said it was ‘urgently looking into the issues’.
In a statement, a BBC spokesman said: ‘The documentary and associated reports contained serious allegations, spanning a number of years.
‘Russell Brand worked on BBC radio programmes between 2006 and 2008 and we are urgently looking into the issues raised.’
The broadcaster yesterday launched an internal investigation into what was known about Brand’s alleged behaviour following claims that at least one senior executive was aware of complaints against the comedian and seemingly dismissed them.
Banijay UK, which produced Big Brother’s EForum and Big Brother’s Big Mouth in the early 2000s, revealed it had also ‘launched an urgent investigation’ into the ‘very serious’ allegations from former staff who worked alongside Brand when he hosted the programmes between 2004 and 2006.
The ex-staffers have claimed that Brand got them to ‘act like pimps’ by getting the numbers of women in the audience and passing notes to them from the presenter.
Channel 4 has also said it is conducting its own internal investigation following allegations of predatory behaviour against Brand.
They said: ‘We have asked the production company who produced the programmes for Channel 4 to investigate these allegations and report their findings properly and satisfactorily to us.
The comedian released a video last week refuting all the allegations against him. Pictured: Brand leaving the Troubadour Wembley Park theatre after a gig on Saturday night
‘Channel 4 is also conducting its own internal investigation, and we would encourage anyone who is aware of such behaviour to contact us directly.’
The statement added: ‘We will be writing to all our current suppliers reminding them of their responsibilities under our Code of Conduct, as we are committed to ensuring our industry has safe, inclusive and professional working environments.’
The network also confirmed to The Telegraph that it has ‘taken down all content featuring Russell Brand while we look into the matter’.
MailOnline has approached the BBC, Channel 4 and Netflix for comment.
Since the Sunday Times and Channel 4 investigation, more women have come forward with allegations about how he has treated them, it has emerged.
The Times and Sunday Times claim ‘several women’ have come forward with undisclosed allegations about Brand’s behaviour during the early 2000s .
