Russell Brand Pranks Fans Over Canadian Customs Fracas

TORONTO – Well, Russell Brand is a prankster.

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It began Saturday with the British entertainer taking to Twitter to tell his fans he’d be late to a sold-out stand-up comedy show at Casino Rama north of Toronto.

Turns out the British comic was pulling a fast one.

“Casino Rama regrets to announce that this evening’s Russell Brand show has been postponed due to a travel issue being experienced by the artist,” the Orillia, Ontario-based casino said in a statement.

That followed Katy Perry’s husband tweeting that his airplane was apparently hovering somewhere in Canadian airspace as Brand was being denied entry into Canada.

"HELP! I'm gonna be late for Casino Rama show unless someone can force Canadian customs officials to let us land in Orillia!" he announced.

Then around 6 p.m., just hours before he was due on stage at Casino Rama, Brand, using the moniker @rustyrockets,  posted yet again: “I'm sorry. I can't enter Canada. We must abolish the borders between our nations AND our minds.”

It turns out Brand’s airplane never left Los Angeles due to unspecified mechanical problems.

"Ok all, let's be clear, @rustyrockets is still in Cali, he never left, he has no immigration or border issue, it was a tech issue with plane!," Casino Rama announced on its own Twitter account.

Casino Rama spokeswoman Jenna Hunter on Sunday told The Canadian Press newswire service that Brand was unable to secure a replacement aircraft to fly to Canada.

"I think he's trying to be witty about the whole thing, but it really was just a plane issue, it wasn't a customs issue at all,” Hunter said.

The Ontario casino told ticket-holders that they could attend a rescheduled show at a future date, or seek refunds.