His crass antics have sparked outrage in the U.S., so has Russell Brand gone too far this time?

Russell Brand has not been sleeping well. During times of stress he is prone to grind his teeth at night, which keeps him awake. The purpose-made gumshield he wears to bed is not helping.

His friends say that late nights at his rented house in Hollywood have seen the British comic slumped in front of the television, flicking channels, his trademark tumbleweed hair flat and lank and his kohl-rimmed eyes smudged and puffy.

The flamboyant 33-year-old presenter-turned-actor is feeling the pressure over his latest disastrous attempt to conquer America.

He and his team of handlers have had to launch a damage-limitation operation after his crude starring performance as the host of last week's MTV awards made him America's public enemy No 1.

Which is quite an achievement, given that until recently most Americans didn't have the faintest idea who he was.

Seldom can one performance have been received so badly. All week, Brand has been the subject of increasing vilification on websites and blogs following his series of ill-judged jokes as he compered the awards in Los Angeles.

Just to recap: There was his onstage description of the U.S. President as 'a retarded cowboy'.

Then he upset religious groups by describing Britney Spears as a female Christ.

That was followed by his forced apology after making lewd comments suggesting he had sex with a member of Christian boyband the Jonas Brothers, who all wear silver 'purity rings' marking their pledge to remain virgins until marriage.

Stateside, audiences were shocked by his ribald humour, most of which does not bear repeating, but included unfortunate comments about the President's surname and references to Brand's unorthodox use of a cherry ChapStick.

Flamboyant: Russell with burlesque dancers at the 2007 Brit Awards

Suffice to say, America didn't get the joke. MTV's website has been swamped with cries of protest and the company has been forced to admit Brand's performance was 'off colour'. Which is something of an understatement.

Since last week's show there have been calls for a boycott of the station because Brand's comments have been construed as an insult to U.S. troops.

Christian organisations have joined the attack and the entertainer has incurred the ire of the American Association of People with Disabilities for his use of the word 'retard'.

What a relief, then, that MTV executives saw fit to tone down Brand's original script, which described Sarah Palin's pregnant daughter Bristol as 'a little slut'.

Some commentators are even putting the Republican's opinion poll bounce down to Brand, who pleaded with the celebrity audience to vote for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. Which might be taking things too far.

But that has not stopped Brand being described on MTV's website as an 'ugly British no-name celeb'.

The TMZ website has been abuzz with demands for Brand to be sent home in disgrace.

Russell made his name in the U.S. with a role in the film 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' ... but his stand-up hasn't been as well-received by Americans

And the American Press has joined the Brand-bashing. Oh dear. No wonder the Essex-born Brand and his U.S. management team are panicking.

The star has been trying to put a positive spin on proceedings, claiming the award show's producer has asked him to sign up for next year's event - a statement which was met with more than a little nervous coughing by MTV executives.

One told me this week: 'Nobody wants to admit they screwed up by hiring Russell. Russell has to be backed publicly. But there's no way he'll be hosting the show next year.'

One could be forgiven for imagining that MTV might have learned from its mistakes.

Brand was sacked from its UK arm in 2001 when, just after the 9/11 attacks, he attempted to interview Kylie Minogue dressed as Osama bin Laden.

He would later blame this 'error of judgment' on his twin addictions to heroin and crack, which he gave up two years later when his manager John Noel ordered him to do a stint in rehab.

The problem for his handlers is that, even clean, Brand remains a loose cannon.

Latest love: Russell with his girlfriend Teresa Palmer

Just take his performance in Northampton two months ago. Brand tried to get a laugh by telling jokes about a spate of sex attacks in the town's underpasses.

Then he borrowed the phone of a member of the audience and called the police.

Brand told the police operator he had seen a man fitting the description of the attacker:

'He was wearing a lime green top and polka-dot trousers, and I thought, "Well, look at the state of him."' When the operator asked Brand for his number, he added: 'I didn't know this was a dating line. Would you be interested in going out for dinner?'

He then sang Just The Two Of Us until the operator hung up.

All of which is incredibly juvenile behaviour. He was condemned by rape charities and was forced to issue an apology.

Many would say this was a crass attempt by Brand to get a cheap joke out of the suffering of others. How else can one explain another attempt at so-called humour, when the comedian - who first came to prominence in 2004 hosting the Big Brother spin-off Big Brother's Big Mouth - joked on TV last year about children with cancer losing their hair to chemotherapy?

Even so, he has become the nom du jour of the British entertainment industry with his own show on Radio 2, a football column in The Guardian and a starring role in the Britflick remake of St Trinian's.

Meanwhile, his autobiography, My Booky Wook, has sold 500,000 copies since its release last year. It chronicles his upbringing as the only son of divorced parents in Grays, Essex, his childhood battles with bulimia and self-harming, and his taste for prostitutes.

Interwoven into this tackfest are details of his fling with Kate Moss and his stays in rehab to deal with his addiction to sex. He also chronicles his struggle to achieve fame at any price.

One of the many lows includes bathing naked with a homeless man for his little-watched satellite TV show in 2002.

Brand has ambitiously set his cap at movie stardom. Earlier this year, he starred as a Mick-Jagger-like rock star in Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

He has also cultivated a new best friend in comedy-A-lister Adam Sandler. The two will star together in upcoming Disney movie Bedtime Stories.

But Brand has developed an overblown notion of his own importance. He recently told one interviewer: 'I'm very aware that, like Bowie or Madonna, I have to keep moving.'

As befits his growing fame, Brand has acquired a Hollywood girlfriend, Australian-born actress Teresa Palmer.

And he has put in an application to trademark himself so he can lend his name to everything from sunglasses to playing cards.

In June, he signed a two-book deal worth £1.5 million with publishers HarperCollins. It has all rather gone to his head.

Brand was set to star as himself in the film version of My Booky Wook. But the comedian has announced: 'I was really excited to play myself, but that was before I hit it big in Hollywood. If they make a film about me, I won't be starring in it.'

Hardly surprisingly, sources close to Brand told me that the project has been quietly shelved.

A source said: 'Russell's saying there is no such thing as bad publicity, but he's rattled. Despite his shambolic act, he is one of the most driven people I have ever met. He has lain awake at night dreaming of making it big in America, and just as he thought he was about to crack it, it could all be taken away from him.'

As for the ambitious star, he says: 'I don't pretend to enjoy anonymity.'

But unless he learns from this latest mistake, it might just be a state of affairs he will have to get used to.