You're right to be angry about Russell Brand - and the establishments, old and new, that gave him his power | Gaby Hinsliff

The comedian moved effortlessly from mainstream fame to the embrace of the populist right. Both enabled an undisguised misogynist Russell Brand has always invited outrage. It was what he did, his shtick and his selling point: a willingness to cross the line that - when sweetened by his undeniable charisma, and by enough long words to make the crude sex gags sound more intellectual - earned him a fortune over the years. But could that willingness to shock, to transgress in plain sight, have funct...