‘Thanks for the laughs!’ Russell Brand is ‘stranded’ in regional NSW due to coronavirus pandemic – as fans spot him at café in Mullumbimby
British comedian Russell Brand was forced to cancel his remaining Australia and New Zealand shows due to the coronavirus pandemic last week.
And on Thursday, the 44-year-old comedian revealed he was ‘stranded’ in the regional NSW town of Mullumbimby, near Byron Bay, in a video posted to YouTube.
Russell has been spotted at local cafés by fans, including an American backpacker who posted a photo with him to Instagram on Sunday.
‘Thanks for the laughs!’ Russell Brand (centre) is ‘stranded’ in regional NSW due to coronavirus pandemic – as fans spot him at café in Mullumbimby
‘I swear, the people you meet in Mullum(bimby) am I right? Thanks for the laughs Russell,’ she captioned the post.
In his YouTube video, Russell said he didn’t know whether he could leave Australia as the country was closing its borders while the UK was also taking similar precautions.
‘I happen to be in Australia at the moment and one of the biggest questions I’m confronting… is, ‘Oh wow, do we go back to the UK now? Or when?’ Where you’re from is where you’re from; it’s a tricky one isn’t it,’ Russell said in the video.
Stuck: In his YouTube video, Russell said he didn’t know whether he could leave Australia as the country was closing its borders while the UK was also taking similar precautions
He also said he found it ironic that while social media is often criticised for reducing interaction – now it is some people’s sole form of contact with the outside world.
‘At a time where the world was becoming saturated with ongoing laments about the nature of atomised online communities, the fact that we don’t speak any more, don’t see each other anymore, that everything’s done with a swipe or a like or a heart,’ he said.
‘Now suddenly it (online) is the only option we’ve got. Even in remote places such as the one where I find myself currently stranded there is suspicion and fear.’
Deep: Russell said he found it ironic that while social media is often criticised for reducing interaction – now it is some people’s sole form of contact with the outside world
Russell also spoke about the mental health implications of self-isolation.
‘I’m a person that has to belong to support groups and communities to help with my numerous, much discussed and pretty bloody obvious mental health issues, primarily around addiction.
‘I like to meet other people with addiction issues or alcoholism issues and get support as I work a 12-step program. That becomes increasingly impossible in self isolation.
‘Thankfully there are online hook up groups, not hook up groups, that’s a different thing, that’s the old life, meet up groups, that’s much more my speed.’
In Australia, there have been 636 cases of COVID-19 and six deaths.
In Australia, there have been 636 cases of COVID-19 and six deaths