David Walliams has been named as the famous man who attempted to secure an injunction preventing the reporting of allegations against him. The 55-year-old comedian brought legal action against Independent Television News (ITN) and Guardian News and Media (GNM), publisher of The Guardian, ahead of the two organisations reporting allegations against him, including of sexual misconduct.
Allegations dating back to 2003
A three-year joint investigation by ITV News and the Guardian contains allegations dating back to 2003 that Walliams preyed on teenage girls and young women for sexual purposes. One woman described her encounter with Walliams when she was aged 15 as “sexual assault”.
Multiple other women have accused the TV personality of “grooming” them when they were teenagers, according to the investigation. One woman alleged Walliams began contacting her when she was 15 after meeting her at a Little Britain fan event, before starting a sexual relationship with her at the age of 17, ITV News reported.
Further accusations and denial
Walliams is also accused of inappropriate conduct and sexual harassment at Britain’s Got Talent and at the publisher HarperCollins. According to the report, Walliams has denied any wrongdoing.
In a statement to the Guardian and ITV News, the comedian 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…
“I am not a sexual predator… I have not broken the law… I am devastated that some of the women I met ten to twenty years ago have now expressed hurt or anger towards me.”
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