If you know the answer then great. If not then let me begin by quoting Wikipedia in order to explain who these two men are (likely many will have heard of Russell Brand and but not so many will have heard of Quinton de Kock).

Because my focus these days is on writing my next book, my forays into alternative media and blogging about what I see is less than it was and, moreover, there is so much out there of the déjà vu nature I’m reluctant to keep repeating myself. But then again, when I see trends in the culture I find naturally worrying, I do not want to be remiss in warning people over what I am seeing.

According to Wikipedia: “Russell Edward Brand (born 4 June 1975) is an English comedian, actor, writer, activist and conspiracy theorist. Known for his flamboyant, loquacious style and manner, Brand has received three British Comedy Awards and nomination for a BAFTA Award. After beginning his career as a comedian and later becoming an MTV presenter in the UK …”

According to Wikipedia: “Quinton de Kock (born 17 December 1992) is a South African cricketer and former captain of the Proteas in all three formats. He currently plays for South Africa in limited overs cricket, Titans at the domestic level, and Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League. He was named the Cricketer of the Year at Cricket South Africa’s 2017 Annual Awards. An opening batsman and wicket-keeper, de Kock made his domestic debut for the Highveld Lions during the 2012/2013 season. He quickly caught the national selectors’ eye …”

Got the answer? If no, let me continue by explaining why these two men are in the news … Recently, a number of women have come forward and accused Brand of past sexual impropriety and in some cases, crimes (and given Brand’s own admitted past promiscuity, this might come as no surprise). This has been widely reported in mainstream media, e.g. by the BBC: “Woman says Russell Brand exposed himself to her then laughed about it on Radio 2 show”. Brand, while admitting he was in the past a sex addict, denies wrong doing and as I write criminal accusations are unproven. One of the actions as a result of these allegations is that Brand has now been de-platformed from YouTube, something in the past they have done a lot of to those with which they disapprove, just as have Facebook (something I have had experience of, even recently). As for de Kock, I read today, also on the BBC: “Quinton de Kock refused to take knee due to Cricket South Africa’s ‘interference‘”. “Taking the knee” as a protest against racism, and the pressure put on sportsmen to do so is nothing new and has meant recently, in de Koch’s case, him having to make himself unavailable in the forthcoming T20 Cricket World Cup.

Got the answer yet? No!? then let me put you out of your misery … The answer is they are both victims of cancel culture, something we are find there is a lot of these days. According to Wikipedia (who are often no friend to such victims): “Cancel culture is a phrase contemporary to the late 2010s and early 2020s used to refer to a culture in which those who are deemed to have acted or spoken in an unacceptable manner are ostracized, boycotted, or shunned. The term “cancel culture” is predominantly used when these responses are to right-wing actions or speech, but is rare when the responses are to left-wing actions or speech. This shunning may extend to social or professional circles—whether on social media or in person—with most high-profile incidents involving celebrities. Those subject to this ostracism are said to have been “cancelled”. The expression “cancel culture” came in circulation in the late 2010s and early 2020s and has mostly negative connotations, often used polemically by self-described advocates for free speech and against censorship. The term “call-out culture” is generally understood to be a more positive framing of the same concept”.

I realise Brand was in the news when I noticed a blog I wrote 18 months ago “Russell Brand meets Yuval Noah Harari” got a spike in number of hits and then seeing posts about what is happening on Bitchute and Rumble, siding more with Brand than his accusers led by mainstream media, arguing, as with many before him, having rattled the cages of the Unholy Trinity, this was their way to shut him up. Then today I listened to a 11-minute video titled “Silencing of Russell Brand – Rumble’s fantastic response” by Sanity4Sweden rightly going on a rant because a British MP who chairs a Parliamentary committee with an interest took Rumble to task for not following YouTube’s lead by de-platforming Brand and Rumble’s CEO, to his credit, telling her where to go. As for de Kock, I understand things have moved on and now he is down to play – but the fact those, whose interest is in doing well in their chosen sport could lose their livelihood by rightly not going along with a dubious agenda, is worrying.