In April, Piers Morgan conducted an extraordinary interview with comedian-turned-vlogger Russell Brand that has since racked up millions of views. Wearing his signature low-cut shirt and oversized cross with a book-marked Bible in tow, Brand’s appearance brings to mind that of the scribes and the Pharisees who “make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long” (Matthew 23:5) in order to be seen by others. 

Gesturing to the same holy book Brand has brandished in court amid rape and sexual assault allegations — which he denies — Morgan asks whether he can point to a passage relevant to his case. What follows is more than 90 seconds of painful floundering in which Brand cannot find a passage, name one, or even gesture vaguely at what one might say.

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This viral clip confirms what many observers suspected — that Brand’s 2024 baptism by TV survivalist TV host Bear Grylls in the polluted River Thames months after being accused of sexual assault might have just been a performance.

Brand’s case is not unique. Religious conversion is traditionally understood as an act of humility: a reckoning with the self and reorientation toward a higher truth. But for some high-profile figures, public declarations of faith can look less like spiritual transformation and more like strategic rebranding. 

In 2022, a video circulated on social media showing manosphere influencer Andrew Tate praying in a Dubai mosque. Tate’s purported conversion to Islam — following social media bans for misogynistic hate speech and a police investigation into human trafficking and rape — has likewise been subject to skepticism. 

Like Brand, Tate has attempted to deflect accusations........

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