David Walliams sexual misconduct allegations, Digi Mart USA News (United Kingdom): Comedian and former Britain’s Got Talent judge is alleged to have groomed fans he met when they were as young as 15 and to have harassed women in the workplace over a number of years. He denies the allegations.
One woman, identified by the pseudonym Alex, says she was 15 and studying for her GCSEs in January 2004 when Walliams, then 32 and a rising star of the sketch show Little Britain, phoned her after she had sent him comedy scripts. She says the calls and emails that followed became increasingly personal, and that by the time she was 17 they were having sex.
An investigation by the Guardian and ITV News found that several women allege Walliams abused his power and position as a celebrity to pursue them for sexual purposes when they were teenagers or young women. Most said they were over 18 when they had interactions with him.
A woman called Jade alleges that, like Alex, she met him when she was 15, and that weeks after first contact he invited her to his house and initiated sexual contact.
The allegations also extend to his conduct in the workplace, with several sources describing inappropriate behaviour towards women at both Britain’s Got Talent and his publisher HarperCollins. In September, HarperCollins announced it would no longer publish Walliams’ back catalogue, having dropped him as a bestselling author the previous year.
The Guardian and ITV News report that the publisher severed ties after concerns were raised about his behaviour over several years.
Walliams denies any wrongdoing. Earlier this year his lawyers took a case to the High Court to try to stop the allegations being published; the case was dismissed.
In a letter to the journalists, Walliams wrote that he behaved thoughtlessly at times, regretted not always considering people’s feelings, and said that abusing power was something he never did. He added: “I am not a sexual predator.
I have not broken the law.”
Lawyers for Walliams say the suggestion that he groomed Alex is false and has caused him significant distress. They say Alex got back in touch with him later, that he believed she was 18 at that point, and that the relationship was brief and consensual.
They deny that he was “pushy” and say he does not believe he made any proposal that they have sex.
Lawyers for Walliams deny grooming a second woman, Lilly Creightmore, or behaving inappropriately toward her, and say he did not target her because she was young or vulnerable. Creightmore, who says she met Walliams as an adult, describes his behaviour as highly inappropriate and says he pursued her for sexual gratification at a vulnerable point in her life.
