Resurfaced 2013 Late Night Clip Shows Jimmy Fallon Scrambling to Rein In Russell Brand Around Katharine McPhee—Even as the Actress Previously Called the Moment “Harmless”
A 2013 late-night television appearance featuring Russell Brand, singer-actress Katharine McPhee, and host Jimmy Fallon has resurfaced online following Brand’s conviction and 10-year, six-month prison sentence for rape and sexual assault.
While the archival clip from NBC’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon has drawn fresh wave of criticism from viewers watching it in the wake of Brand’s November 9, 2026 sentencing, the footage carries an important nuance: McPhee herself publicly addressed the exact same clip years earlier, insisting she did not view the exchange as harmful.
Inside the Awkward 2013 Late Night Exchange
The encounter took place during a February 2013 joint guest appearance on Fallon’s show. Brand was already seated on the guest couch when McPhee—who was married to Nick Cokas at the time—walked onstage to join the segment:
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Bouncing McPhee on His Lap: Rather than sliding over to make room, Brand pulled McPhee toward his chair. Playing along with the bit, McPhee briefly sat on his lap, prompting Brand to hug her and bounce her up and down while shouting, “For the Queen!”
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Fallon’s Visibly Stressed Intervention: Recognizing where the joke was heading, Fallon immediately stepped in to stop him:“No, Russell, don’t even say for the Queen; you can’t.”
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Escalating Flirtatious Remarks: Even after McPhee jumped up and took her own seat, Brand continued making suggestive comments throughout the interview—telling the audience he found McPhee attractive and quipping about wanting to exchange “numbers, genes, genetic info, data” with her. Only after Fallon pointed out that McPhee was married did Brand abruptly halt the routine, joking, “I didn’t know you were married. I’m going to f*** off now,” before briefly walking off the stage.
Katharine McPhee’s 2023 Response: “It Was Harmless”
When the clip previously circulated on Instagram in September 2023 following the initial Channel 4 Dispatches and Times investigation into allegations against Brand, McPhee pushed back directly in the comments against framing her appearance as an example of misconduct:
“I know nothing [about] what you are trying to claim here, but this specific incident was over 10 years ago, and it was harmless. Please don’t try to use me for whatever purpose you are trying to serve.”
Contrasting Hindsight in the Wake of Brand’s Sentencing
Following Brand’s conviction at London’s Southwark Crown Court on November 5, 2026—and his sentencing four days later to 10 years and six months in prison for one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault against four women between 2004 and 2009—the 2013 Fallon footage has circulated widely again on YouTube alongside other archival clips, including Brand’s 2007 appearance with Lorraine Kelly on The Graham Norton Show.
Unlike Kelly, who candidly stated in 2023 that watching her own encounter back made her uncomfortable, McPhee’s explicit pushback serves as a reminder to respect each participant’s own account of their experience—even as viewers reassess the broader television culture that routinely indulged Brand’s provocative persona at the height of his fame.
