Nicole Scherzinger has issued a statement after fans slammed her when they were convinced she “came out as a Trump supporter.”
The singer angered fans when she left a comment on Russell Brand’s photo which depicted a hat, similar to MAGA merchandise that read: “Make Jesus First Again.”
Nicole commented: “Where do i get this?🙏❤️.”
The Pussycat Dolls singer has not publicly endorsed either candidate but fans were quick to call her out.
Instagram followers replied to Nicole with “No, hun, this ain’t it at all.”
“F***ing hell, Nicole, not this,” another wrote.
The 46-year-old took to her Instagram story on Friday evening to address the controversy.
“I deeply apologise for the hurt caused by my recent engagement with some social media posts.”
“When I commented on these posts, I made the mistake of not realising that they could be easily interpreted as being politically related and I apologise to anyone who understandably reached that conclusion.”
“Many presumptions are being drawn, which do not reflect who I am, what I stand for, or who I voted for,” she continued.
“Many of the marginalised communities feeling hurt and concerned by the results of the presidential election are people I care about most.”
“I stand with them, as I always have, throughout my life and career.”
“If you know me, you know that. Like so many others, in times of adversity and uncertainty, I turn to my faith.”
“I believed that the posts I engaged with were about encouraging people to choose love and faith – ‘putting Jesus first.’”
“For me Christ embodies peace, compassion, hope, and above all – unconditional love, especially for those who may feel it the least right now.”
“I come from a place of love and I will always support values that bring us closer together. It’s so important we come together with compassion, and love one another more now than ever. Nicole.”
Fans also slammed Nicole for engaging with Russell Brand after The Metropolitan police urged the prosecutors to charge Russell Brand with his recent sexual assault allegations.
Last year, the 49-year-old was accused of rape, assault and emotional abuse as part of a joint investigation by Channel 4’s Dispatches programme, The Times and The Sunday Times.
Russell has denied all the allegations against him, which allegedly took place between 2006 and 2013.
Now, the police have handed a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
A statement from the Metropolitan Police said: “Following an investigation by Channel 4’s Dispatches and The Sunday Times in September 2023, the Met received a number of reports of sexual offences from women in London and elsewhere in the country.
“A file of evidence has now been passed to the CPS for their consideration.”
“As part of the investigation, a man in his 40s has been interviewed by officers under caution on three separate occasions.”
The statement continued: “These interviews related to a number of non-recent sexual offences which are alleged to have taken place both in and outside of London.”
“Officers continue to support the CPS as part of their investigation.”
Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy said: “We have a team of dedicated officers providing specialist support to the women who have come forward.”
“We are committed to investigating sexual offences, no matter how long ago they are alleged to have taken place.”
Earlier this year, an investigation has found that concerns surrounding Russell Brand’s behaviour while he was working on several Channel 4 programmes were “not properly escalated or adequately addressed”
The TV personality was accused of predatory behaviour while working on several of the channel’s programmes including Big Brother’s Big Mouth, Kings Of Comedy and Big Brother’s Celebrity Hijack.
A probe launched by Banijay UK, which bought Endemol, the company commissioned by Channel 4 to produce the show’s mentioned, found that various informal concerns were raised about his behaviour on the shows aired between 2004 and 2008.
Findings released by Karen Baxter, the head of investigations at the law firm Lewis Silkin LLP, said: “No formal complaints were made about Brand during the programmes.”
“There were, however, concerns regarding Brand’s behaviour, which were raised informally with senior members of staff, particularly in relation to him asking runners to obtain phone numbers of audience members and female crew members feeling uncomfortable or intimidated by his behaviour while working in Bristol in 2004/2005.
“These concerns were not properly escalated or adequately addressed.”
The findings also state that Russell was employed at a time when Channel 4 and Endemol knew he was a “recovering drug addict with a reputation for being ‘edgy’” but “no particular safeguards were put in place to protect Brand, those who worked with him or those who otherwise came into contact with him”, including the audience.
The probe also found evidence that Endemol staff felt “largely unable to raise concerns about Brand due to: his role as talent, a view that Brand’s behaviour was tolerated by senior people, a fear of not being listened to, and/or concern for their job security”.
Patrick Holland, the chief executive of Banijay UK, has since apologised to “anyone who was impacted” and felt “unable to speak up or that their voice was not properly heard”.
He said: “Dispatches made deeply troubling allegations regarding Russell Brand’s behaviour during his time working for legacy company Endemol.
“I am grateful to Lewis Silkin for this thorough report and the learnings we can take from it.
“While Endemol did have support and escalation procedures in place during the period in question, they were clearly not understood and adhered to the degree we would expect today and were not as robust as our current UK and group-wide processes.
“Industry protocols, duty of care and expectations of behaviour have vastly improved in recent years and continue to be reviewed and progressively updated on a regular basis.
“We are extremely sorry to anyone who was impacted by this behaviour and felt unable to speak up or that their voice was not properly heard.”
