Content Warning: This story contains references to rape, sexual assault, and an exhibit involving intimate body hair.
A museum has removed an unusual exhibit connected to Russell Brand. The move follows Brand’s recent conviction for rape and sexual assault and his subsequent prison sentence of 10 years and six months. Museum curator Viktor Wynd said he no longer wants the comedian’s name associated with the collection.
Why Viktor Wynd removed the disputed exhibit from his London collection
Viktor Wynd, the collector behind the Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities, Fine Art & UnNatural History in Hackney, confirmed the removal to Variety. The unusual item, reportedly containing the comedian’s pubic hair, had been part of the collection for more than a decade.
“I took them straight off display and have no desire to hear his name again – he has no place in my museum of horrors,” Wynd told the publication. “My museum is full of disgusting things but even I have limits.”
The curator also plans to replace the item with a memorial plate that his friend Elizabeth MacNeal is auctioning on Instagram to raise money for Rape Crisis. Wynd reportedly donated the alleged hair sample to Littledean Jail, a crime museum in the Forest of Dean.
A woman who claimed to have shaved Brand at a Camden Town salon originally submitted the item. According to museum records, she sent the hair to Wynd in 2016. The item came with a handwritten letter suggesting that Wynd might appreciate the unusual addition to his collection. However, its authenticity has not been independently verified.
The removal followed Brand’s conviction at London’s Southwark Crown Court. On Nov. 5, a jury found the 51-year-old guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault involving four women. He was acquitted of two additional rape charges and one count of attempted indecent assault.
On Nov. 9, Brand received a sentence of 10 years and six months in prison. The convictions followed a four-week trial in which the comedian denied the charges.
