Brand defends under-fire comics (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Brand defends under-fire comics

11:16am Monday 30th July 2012 in National Entertainment News © Press Association 2013

Russell Brand has defended two of his fellow comedians after they faced a backlash for jokes about rape and the Batman shootings.

The British funnyman said comments made by Daniel Tosh and Dane Cook would have been "well intentioned" and just meant to make their audiences laugh, reports E! Online.

Daniel came under fire after making comments about rape during a stand-up show earlier this month, while Dane found himself in hot water after referring to the massacre at a cinema in Colorado in his act last week.

Speaking on a press tour for his stand-up show Brand X with Russell Brand, the star said: "I think if someone's job is a comedian and they say something, like in the analysis of the content of their statement, you should recall the bit that they're a comedian. I've noticed a lot of people sort of remove [the fact that they are comedians] from the analysis to sort of create some storm of condemnation."

The 37-year-old - who is no stranger to controversy himself - went on: "I don't know about what Dane Cook or Daniel Tosh said, but I know that they are comedians, and I know they're nice human beings, so I don't imagine that they had any intention other than to elicit laughter from their fellow human beings, as is their job. I would imagine that [their act] was well intentioned, whatever happened."

Us Weekly reports that Daniel and Dane have both since apologised for their jokes.