A toned-down Brand went on air to chat to Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking in March 2020 to promote his upcoming show.
The pair chatted about Covid, spiritual awakening, and the comedian getting clean from his drug and alcohol addictions.
Asked by Hosking if he had any regrets, Brand said tellingly that part of his recovery was “making amends.
“If you’ve harmed anyone, you make amends to those people ... by not being the person that you used to be and living a life of kindness and compassion,” he said.
“That’s certainly a big part of my life, to live in a conscientious and loving way. I don’t have regrets in the sense of, ‘oh, I wish I hadn’t done that’, because I recognise that that’s pointless.”
Two days after the interview, he cancelled the show due to coronavirus concerns.
Stormed the TVNZ newsroom demanding an interview
In an infamous incident ahead of his October 2015 show, the comedian burst in to the TVNZ newsroom in Auckland demanding an interview before shoving a cupcake into a reporter’s mouth.
TVNZ reported that a “loud, tall and sweaty man” ran in off the street shouting, “I’ve got 21 minutes, who would like to interview me?” Lisette Reymer promptly put her hand up for the job.
After 21 minutes, he had answered none of her questions. She described the comedian as “very physical, very full on, very intense, very hard to focus, a free spirit, everything you would imagine him to be except taller.”
He then clung to traffic reporter Selena Hawkins for several seconds before shoving a cupcake in her mouth because she was “too tiny.
“He was intense, crazy and a bit creepy,” Hawkins said.
Kissed Seven Sharp reporter on the cheek
Brand also chatted with Tim Wilson for Seven Sharp during his October 2015 visit to New Zealand.
At the end of the chat, the comedian told the camera, “This has been Tim and Russell on ... " before appearing to forget the name of the show, before Wilson reminded him.
“Seven Sharp. Thank you very much, what a lovely surprise date,” he continued, before leaning in and kissing Wilson on the cheek leaving the reporter in shock.
“Kissed by Russell Brand, yeow!” he said in disbelief, before Brand joked, “Don’t do that face, you’re better than that,” before walking off.
Confused NZ with Aussie in Hosking interview
During a radio interview with Mike Hosking in May 2015 ahead of his New Zealand Trew World Order tour, Brand momentarily forgot he was talking to a Kiwi journalist.
“What I might do is bring my cat Morrissey to Australia with me. Oh wait, this is New Zealand, right?” Brand said.
In an effort to make amends, he continued, “I’ve got a lot of friends from New Zealand.
“They’re all in London, but they’re from New Zealand. They’re good people. A lot of them are involved with making coffees over here - coffee and marijuana seems to be what your country is running off.”
Fan encounter at Auckland Airport
One Kiwi fan managed to catch Brand on his arrival at Auckland Airport ahead of a show back in 2012.
Peta Falzon, who was 28 at the time, told the Herald he was “so lovely - he was really, really nice” and had signed a copy of his book for her and posed for a photo.
“I just said, ‘I love you’ and he said, ‘That’s lovely, innit?’” she said.
Falzon got to the airport an hour before he was due to land at 7.30 in the morning.
She told the Herald, “He’s always been one of my top, top people to meet so I was over the moon to actually meet him.”
During their chat, she told the comedian she would be in the front row at his show that night - “and he said he’d say hello”.
