Russell Brand's larger-than-life persona has been well-documented through the years. He rightly earned the title of "Lothario" solely based on his behavior in the late 2000s and 2010s. Now the comedian, actor, and political activist is the latest celebrity accused of sexual assault and rape.

But is he guilty? Far too many people on both sides of the political aisle think they already know the answer.

In 2023, everything is filtered through a partisan lens. This includes sexual assault allegations. The accused often, but not always, will experience less condemnation from those who are closest to them ideologically. On the other hand, adversaries of the accused determine guilt before proof is offered. Brand has already seen his YouTube channel demonetized , a comedy special pulled from Paramount+, and a book deal and comedy tour put on hold .

This tribalism is a bad, unfair exercise in light of the serious nature of sexual crimes, and it can have lifelong implications.

For his part, Brand has been extremely open about his past lifestyle. It is common knowledge that he went to rehab for sex addiction. In a short video on his now- demonetized YouTube channel dated Sept. 15, Brand says, "As I’ve written about extensively in my books, I was very, very promiscuous." He goes on to say all of his relationships during his period of promiscuity were consensual. He also wholly denies any sort of criminality. To be honest, Brand looks somewhat bewildered in the video. This isn't surprising. There is a lot at stake for Brand and his family.

For a long time, he was the darling of a media and entertainment industry that loved his wild antics . Now his right-wing political activism makes him an enemy of those who once loved him.

Absolutely none of this, past or present, conclusively means he is guilty or innocent of sexual misconduct. Sexual abuse allegations shouldn't be partisan, and yet we've seen them politicized time and again.

In 2018, liberals were all too happy to entertain sexual assault allegations against Brett Kavanaugh before he was confirmed to the Supreme Court. There was found to be no evidence or corroboration for any of the claims, but many on the Left continue to insist Kavanaugh is a predator when there is simply no proof.

Compare that to Tara Reade's allegations against President Joe Biden, which Democrats have essentially ignored .

Personal feelings for, or political gain from, those accused of sexual misconduct have a way of strengthening or diluting concerns about their supposed crimes. But the fact that someone in question may be an ally means nothing.

I've never cared much for Brand — his personality has always been off-putting. But Russell Brand's years of promiscuity don't automatically make him a predator, however much we may dislike him.

At the same time, the fact that some well-known figures on the Right, such as Elon Musk and Jordan Peterson, have come to his defense means little. Relatedly, if there were proof showing Kavanaugh to be a sexual predator, Republicans should have dropped their support immediately, regardless of the high stakes. No excuses.

Crimes of sexual assault are especially egregious. Because they are so personal and violating, it's proper to investigate in order to determine the truth. Anything less than the truth undermines real victims and their stories and harms the accused who turn out to be innocent. Too often, partisan tendencies assign guilt or innocence based on nothing concrete.

No amount of popularity, celebrity, like, or dislike matters more than the facts.

Kimberly Ross ( @SouthernKeeks ) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner's Beltway Confidential blog and a columnist at Arc Digital.