After tackling newspaper journalism with a Margaret Thatcher op-ed for The Guardian, Russell Brand has moved on to dominating television journalism as well. A video captures Brand eviscerating the hosts of MSNBC’s Morning Joe for essentially laughing at him to his face during an interview. Co-host Mika Brzezinski and panelists Katty Kay and Brian Shactman appear visibly nervous about interviewing the loquacious British comedian. Brzezinski starts the segment by admitting she's never heard of Brand, because she’s “not very pop-cultured.” The anchors titter about Brand’s outfit, whisper “uh-oh” after he mentions Americans are free to wear what they want, inexplicably plug the musical Kinky Boots, and appear shocked that Brand is able to give a coherent explanation for name of his new comedy tour, The Messiah Complex.


The hosts then proceed to complaining that it’s impossible to understand Brand’s accent, snicker that he'll never give them a serious answer (after he's just given one), and refer to him repeatedly in the third person. After smiling through several minutes of condescension, Brand points out, “You are talking about me as if I’m not here, and as if I’m an extraterrestrial.” Perhaps deciding that basic manners need not be maintained around comedians, Brzezinski proceeds to roll her chair away from Brand, and Kay, for some reason, refers to him as “Willy.”

Around the 6:00 mark, Brand finally decides he’s had enough, asking “Is this what you all do for a living?” and launching into a tirade about the problem with modern-day journalism’s obsession with the superficial before bringing the conversation back to his comedy tour Messiah Complex, which he was there to promote in the first place.


The show’s graphics best document the careening interview, as the onscreen headlines change from “Russell Brand Unplugged: Letting Loose on Morning Joe” to “Russell Brand Takes Over: Dominating the MJ Set” to “British Comedian Stuns Mika” (by pointing to her awkward grappling with a water bottle and calling her a "shaft-grasper"). Perhaps channeling his Willy Wonka performance at the London Olympics, Brand essentially says, “You lose! Good day, sir” to the American media. [via Gawker]