LONDON (AP) -- British police said Monday they had received a sexual assault allegation after media outlets published claims by several women against Russell Brand. Promoters postponed the remaining dates in a string of live gigs by the comedian, who denies the allegations.
A talent agency and a publisher also parted company with Brand over the claims, which have left the U.K. entertainment industry facing questions about whether the comedian's bad behavior went unchallenged because of his fame.
Brand, 48, denies allegations of sexual assault made by four women in a Channel 4 television documentary and The Times and Sunday Times newspapers. The accusers, who have not been named, include one who said she was sexually assaulted during a relationship with him when she was 16. Another woman says Brand raped her in Los Angeles in 2012.
London's Metropolitan Police force said that since the allegations were made public it had received "a report of a sexual assault which was alleged to have taken place in Soho in central London in 2003." That is three years before the earliest of the alleged assaults reported by the media outlets.
The police force said "officers are in contact with the woman and will be providing her with support." It did not identify the alleged perpetrator as Brand, but referred to the newspaper and TV allegations in its statement. Police urged "anyone who believes they may have been a victim of a sexual offence, no matter how long ago it was, to contact us."
In a video statement released Friday in response to the media claims, Brand said his relationships were "always consensual."
The Times said Monday that more women had contacted the newspaper with allegations against Brand and they would be "rigorously checked."
Known for his unbridled and risqué standup routines, Brand hosted shows on radio and television, wrote memoirs charting his battles with drugs and alcohol, appeared in several Hollywood movies and was briefly married to pop star Katy Perry between 2010 and 2012.
Brand was suspended by the BBC in 2008 for making lewd prank calls to "Fawlty Towers" actor Andrew Sachs in which he boasted about having sex with Sachs' granddaughter. He quit his radio show in the wake of the incident, which drew thousands of complaints to the publicly funded broadcaster.
The BBC, Channel 4 and the production company behind the "Big Brother" reality series -- spinoffs of which were hosted by Brand -- all say they have launched investigations into Brand's behavior and how complaints were handled.