Richard Branson and other sea life in captivity for entertainment purposes. In November 2017, singer Antonia Jenae, a backing singer for Joss Stone, claimed Branson sexually assaulted her at Necker Island. A spokesperson for Branson confirmed to "The Sun" newspaper that members of the band had been invited for a party on the island in 2010, but that he and friends and family in attendance had "no recollection" of the events. Branson later apologised. In November 2010, Branson secured a sponsorship deal from controversial company QNet for his Virgin Racing which is owned by QI Group head by Vijay Eswaran, who is
Richard Branson publisher and favoured distributor and the Virgin group were in competition at the time. He is also caricatured in "The Simpsons" episode "Monty Can't Buy Me Love" as the tycoon Arthur Fortune, as the ballooning megalomaniac Richard Chutney (a pun on Branson, as in Branston Pickle) in "Believe Nothing", and voiced himself in "The Princess Guide". The character Grandson Richard 39 in Terry Pratchett's Wings is modelled on Branson. He has a cameo appearance in several films: "Around the World in 80 Days" (2004), where he played a hot-air balloon operator, and "Superman Returns" (2006), where he was credited as