David Walliams is alleged to have exchanged sexual messages with teenage girls and met them for sex, according to a major investigation published by the Guardian and ITV News. The 55-year-old Little Britain star lost a court battle attempting to block the publication of the allegations, which he strenuously denies.
Multiple women have alleged the author used his fame to prey on them for sexual purposes. One woman, identified as Alex, claims she met Walliams at a Little Britain fan event in 2004 when she was 15, after which he began contacting her. She alleges they started a relationship when she was 17 and told investigative journalists she believed she was "groomed, 100%."
Alleged Messages and Encounters
Alex claimed Walliams asked for pictures of her, which escalated from photos of her face to underwear and then nude images. She said he put pressure on her, telling her how to pose, and that there was an imbalance in their interactions. She also alleged he replied "You in the bath is a nice thought" when she mentioned her evening plans, to which she responded with a message about the two of them being in the bath together.
By 2006, the report alleges, Alex and Walliams were having sex. Another woman, Jade, claims she met Walliams in the summer of 2007 after he sent her a private message on MySpace. She said he asked if she had ever had sex before, kissed her on a side street, and invited her back to his house, where he lifted up her T-shirt. She told the Guardian: "I wasn't ready for sex... I didn't want to be touched in that way at all. I mean, I was only a 15-year-old."
Walliams' Response
Walliams' lawyers have denied he groomed Alex and denied any sexual contact with Jade. In a response to ITV and the Guardian, Walliams said: "Looking back, I realise that at times I behaved thoughtlessly towards other people I had casual sexual relationships with. I realise I did not always take people's feelings properly into account. That is something I regret. And whilst a power imbalance is inevitable when one party is famous, abusing that power is something else entirely and it is something that I never did."
He added: "I am not a sexual predator. I have not broken the law, but I am devastated that some of the women I met 10 to 20 years ago have now expressed hurt or anger towards me." The investigation remains ongoing as more details of the allegations continue to emerge.
