British actor and comedian Russell Brand hasn’t lost his audience in the wake of troubling accusations about his personal and professional life … because he’s set to speak at a college in Florida this upcoming Saturday, even after he’s been charged with sexual assault in London and has been sued for alleged behavior on a movie set in New York.

Brand is lined up to appear as a guest speaker at New College of Florida in Sarasota as part of their Socratic Stage series, which is meant to discuss complex and pressing social and political issues.

New College confirmed to TMZ … Brand will speak at the event titled, “Thinking without Permission: A Conversation with Russell Brand on Free Speech, Censorship, and Cultural Power,” part of its Spring 2025 series, scheduled April 12.

Other notable speakers participating in the series include Tom Homan — President Donald Trump‘s border czar — and attorney Alan Dershowitz.

The liberal arts college has beefed up its right-wing faculty and staff in recent years after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis overhauled the school’s leadership and steered it sharply in a conservative direction.

Alexandra Nicole Islas, Director of Public Policy Events at the school, tells TMZ … “In a time when public pressure often seeks to silence rather than engage, New College of Florida is reaffirming its role in creating space for open inquiry—not eliminating it. After thoughtful consideration, we have decided to move forward with Russell Brand’s scheduled appearance as part of a broader conversation on society, culture, and free speech.”

She continues … “This is a reflection of our commitment to civil discourse and the belief that even challenging conversations deserve room in the public square. While the justice system independently addresses other matters, our responsibility is to ensure a space where ideas—especially those that invite dialogue such as the topic of cancel culture and free speech, can be explored with respect, critical thought, and intellectual integrity.”

As you know … last week, London Metropolitan Police announced Brand has been hit with a slew of charges including one count of rape, one count of indecent assault, one count of oral rape, and two counts of sexual assault.

Officials say the charges stem from incidents involving four different women that allegedly occurred between 1999 and 2005. Brand quickly denied all allegations in a video he shared on social media, saying he has never engaged in “non-consensual activity.”

Brand’s also been served in a civil sexual assault case in New York stemming from alleged behavior on the set of the 2011 movie “Arthur.” Warner Bros. announced this week the company would release outtakes from the making of the movie.

Tony Buzbee is taking legal steps to try to dismiss a Jay-Z lawsuit against him, claiming they struck a deal and Jay reneged — but Jay’s camp says Buzbee is full of it.

Buzbee, the Texas lawyer famous for representing 120 alleged Diddy victims, filed new legal docs Monday to dismiss the defamation lawsuit Jay-Z filed against him in Alabama.

Tony was representing the Jane Doe who claimed Jay-Z and Diddy raped her in New York back in 2000. She ultimately dropped the rape lawsuit … and Jay-Z then sued her and Buzbee in Alabama, where she lives, over bringing the case in the first place.

Buzbee argues Jay-Z is suing him in the wrong court, and failed to lay out a legal basis for the suit … and he also claims there was some sort of agreement.

In the docs, Buzbee says … “Eventually, the relentless pressure that Mr. Carter and his associates placed upon Doe became too much for her. On February 4, 2025, an agreement to resolve the litigation was reached between Doe and Mr. Carter, through their attorneys, which included the voluntary dismissal of the SDNY Action.”

But Jay-Z’s camp says Tony is living in fantasy land when he suggests they reached an “agreement.” Jay-Z’s attorney, Alex Spiro, tells TMZ, “Total lie. He brought a false case, lost badly and was forced to dismiss quickly. End of story.”

Tony Buzbee’s lawyer Marc E. Kasowitz tells TMZ … “Spiro’s statement that there was no agreement is a total fabrication. There was an exchange of emails between me and Spiro which set forth the agreement very clearly. As part of that agreement Spiro agreed to withdraw the role 11 motions for sanctions that he had brought against Mr. Buzbee’s law firm.”

Kasowitz continued … “We agreed to withdraw the lawsuit that Jane Doe had brought for rape against Jay Z and Mr. Combs even though Jane Doe continued to maintain that the allegations in that lawsuit were true, and Jay Z and Spiro agreed not to send any more people to harass and intimidate Jane Doe and her family. One-week later Jay-Z and his lawyer breached that agreement flagrantly by sending supposed investigators to harass and intimidate Jane Doe and her family.”

Spiro has acknowledged in court docs, Kasowitz did reach out to him about dismissing the Jane Doe suit against Jay … and says he told him Jay-Z “would never settle the lawsuit or pay any money to resolve it, given it was a heinous false accusation.”

Spiro says Kasowitz did request they stop investigating Buzbee’s law firm, but says Kasowitz claiming there was an “explicit agreement” to back off Jane Doe … is not true.

All is well between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Roberto Clemente‘s family after the baseball legend’s tribute was inexplicably removed from the outfield wall padding at PNC Park … with Roberto Clemente Jr. telling TMZ Sports the two sides hashed things out on Monday.

The Pirates sparked quite the controversy when the No. 21 logo in honor of the late MVP was replaced by an ad for a cocktail company over the weekend … with fans — and Roberto Jr. himself — expressing shock over the move.

Pirates president Travis Williams took the blame for the mistake on Sunday … and said the symbol would be returned to the right field wall.