David Walliams, the 55-year-old author and former Britain’s Got Talent judge, is facing allegations from multiple women that he exploited his fame to prey on teenage girls as young as 15 for sexual purposes. The claims were published by The Guardian and ITV yesterday afternoon, after Walliams lost a court battle attempting to block their publication. Walliams has strenuously denied all the allegations.
Allegations of grooming and sexual messages
In one exchange, the comedian allegedly asked one girl “how much school have you got left”, called her “gorgeous” and said the idea of her in the bath “was a nice thought”.
A woman called ‘Alex’ claimed to have met Walliams at a Little Britain fan event in 2004 when she was 15. She says as she approached the comedian she recalled him saying: “You’re a very attractive lady.” Walliams was 32 at the time and a rising star in the UK comedy scene.
Alex claimed: "We met when I was 15 and he was promising to help me and was a figure of authority and someone that I looked to for guidance and help. He used that power and abused that power the minute he felt he just about could and it was just about safe to."
Details of the exchanges
Alex claimed to have sent Walliams recent pictures of herself when she was 17, but claimed she was old enough to drink at the time. She alleged Walliams at one point had asked how much school she had left, and responding to one email in 2005 claimed he asked: "How are you? How old are you now? What are you up to? Are you still writing?"
She also claimed Walliams had asked for more pictures, and, when she said what her evening plans were, alleged he had replied: "You in the bath is a nice thought." She responded: "Hmm.. You in the bath with me is a nicer thought... hehe..."
She said: "He was asking for photos and at first I would send photos of my face and then it was photos of my underwear and then he would put a lot of pressure on me, telling me how to pose and then I would actually be naked. He was asking me to do things I had not done before and there was that imbalance."
By 2006, the report alleges, Alex and Walliams were having sex.
Second accuser and Walliams' response
Another woman named ‘Jade’ claimed the comedian targeted her through MySpace when she was just 15. The Guardian reports her having said: "It wasn't long until he asked me if I'd ever had sex before."
After the meet, she alleged Walliams kissed her on a side street before he invited her back to his house. After taking her back to his home, she claimed he kissed her and lifted up her T-shirt, telling 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' lawyers have denied he groomed Alex, and further denied he had any sexual contact with Jade.
Walliams said in a response to ITV and The Guardian: "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."
Walliams had sought an injunction against ITV News’ parent company Independent Television News and Guardian News and Media, arguing a publication could lead him to take his own life. Last week Walliams’ application was dismissed by a High Court judge and Walliams subsequently missed Monday’s deadline to appeal.
