English comedian Russell Brand is no stranger to controversy and in the past few days the funnyman has been at it again, this time concerning the release of his new DVD. Brand informed his Twitter followers that obtaining Messiah Complex can be achieved in various ways, not least via The Pirate Bay. Potential UK viewers need not be concerned about ISP censorship either, as Brand helpfully provided a link to a Pirate Bay proxy.

To some, mainly those in the entertainment industries, The Pirate Bay is an evil parasite that exists on the hard work of others. It profits from content to which it has no rights and along the way disregards the wishes of artists, producers and their distributors who want to choose how and when their product is made available.

To others, and judging by its popularity that may very well be the majority, The Pirate Bay is the world’s media greatest library. Not only that, it breaks down the barriers between the rich and poor and the haves and have nots, by pricing everything at a universally affordable zero dollars, euros, pounds or yen.

Of course, there are artists out there that enjoy what the site has to offer. One only has to look at the popularity of The Promo Bay to see that there are many creators who appreciate a helping hand with their profile.

What is more unusual is when established artists, who have business deals with major companies and traditional Pirate Bay rivals, decide to give the site their endorsement.

That is exactly what happened before the weekend via the Twitter account of comedian Russell Brand.

For those that don’t know, it’s a bit of a tradition in the UK for comedians to release a new DVD around Christmas. It’s a very lucrative time for this type of product and many joke-mongers fight each other for the top sales spot. Brand has a new one out too, it’s called Messiah Complex and it’s available at retailers for around £10.00, which is not a bad price at all.

But while sales are gratefully received and all add to the chart rankings, Brand made it clear to his millions of followers that official outlets aren’t the only way of obtaining his DVD.

As can be seen from the Tweet above, Brand not only linked to The Pirate Bay but also to a proxy site. This link enabled UK Internet users to bypass the blocks put in place by their ISPs following High Court action by the music and movie industries against The Pirate Bay.

Unsurprisingly this has caused problems. As noted by MusicWeek, Brand’s DVD was put out by 2Entertain, which in turn is owned by BBC Worldwide.

“Some people who’s [sic] jobs depend on it are angry. Complex,” Brand wrote.

Complex indeed.

2Entertain’s sister company is Demon Music Group. Not only is Demon a member of the BPI, but until last year its commercial director Adrian Sear was sitting on the BPI’s council. Since the BPI were the driving force behind the UK blockade of The Pirate Bay, one of their artists promoting a workaround will hardly be a welcome development.

Still, Brand doesn’t seem too concerned.

“I’ll watch the torrent and if I like it I will buy it. Deal?” said one Twitter user.

“As you wish mate,” Brand responded.

“If i download this illegally will that make you sad?” said another.

“I don’t mind as long as you watch it,” Brand fired back.

Whether Brand’s tweets to his 7.3 million followers will result in masses of Pirate Bay piracy remains to be seen, but given his anti-capitalist stance he’s probably quietly amused by the prospect, especially if he got his DVD payment up front.