Lucy Beaumont has said she feared people would view her decision to speak out against David Walliams as a publicity stunt, and that she stopped promoting her upcoming tour because of those worries.
The 43-year-old comedian has been widely praised in recent days for revealing she offered support to accusers of the former Britain's Got Talent judge. Walliams, 55, unsuccessfully sought a permanent injunction to prevent allegations of grooming and sexual assault from being published as part of an investigation by The Guardian and ITV News.
The judge ruled that blocking publication would be an 'exceptionally serious interference' with freedom of expression, despite Walliams's lawyers arguing it posed a severe risk of him taking his life. Walliams was subsequently publicly accused of abusing his celebrity status to groom fans as young as 15 and pursue and harass women in the workplace over several years. He denies the misconduct claims.
Beaumont's response to criticism
In the immediate aftermath, Beaumont gave an interview to Sky News, explaining that she offered to pay legal fees for alleged victims who had signed NDAs and aided accusers in bringing their experiences forward. She also revealed that she was a whistleblower who offered information to The Guardian, raising concerns after being told he was hosting teenage girls in his dressing room.
Now, the stand-up star has voiced her anxiety around people perceiving her actions wrongly, as she responded to an Instagram post mentioning her book, Drinking Custard: The Diary of a Confused Mum, and upcoming tour. Shared by Simon Harris, the original post hit back at trolls accusing him of 'posting excessively' in recent days as they 'feel that her recent news appearances have been an orchestrated PR stunt'.
'I take all complaints very seriously, and after a great deal of reflection, it is with extreme regret that I confirm that I will no longer mention her book on social media,' he quipped sarcastically, proceeding to link tickets for her tour dates instead.
'I stopped promoting my tour'
In the comments, Beaumont wrote: 'I stopped promoting my tour as worried people would see it like that.'
'I've been ready to speak up for years but I couldn't until there was some sort of allegations – if victims came forward, this is a really sensitive complex issue and it hasn't been looked into legally, they are still allegations and I had to quickly way up if I could make a difference and do something positive and what the effects on everyone involved would be [sic]'.
She added that 'time will tell' if she made the right decision, but she remains 'worried about everyone involved'. 'I'd hate for people to think it was a publicity stunt,' she continued. 'People tell me I will carry on working, but a lot more women have lost their jobs because of lesser stuff, it might not be for a few years, but that's what I believe and it's worth it.'
She concluded by name-checking Close The Consent Gap, a campaign working to change the law 'so adults aren't able to legally have sex with a child aged 16/17', which is where Beaumont is focusing her energy now. 'I as say this is complex so I'm trying not to say anything about people specifically, but try and help change things x', her comment ended.
Background and police investigation
In her original interview, Beaumont said she has never worked with Walliams or witnessed inappropriate behaviour from him. But when a young person 'confided' in her three years ago, claiming they were 'really worried' about some of Walliams's conduct behind-the-scenes, she did 'as much as [she] could do privately'.
'Whenever I've heard a rumour about anyone, I've done everything I can.'
Beaumont, known for appearances on shows like Taskmaster, The Celebrity Traitors, and Meet the Richardsons, acknowledged there had been 'no proper duty of care' in the industry, which led to incidents slipping 'through the net'. While she does not know if the allegations against Walliams are true, she still wanted to help where possible.
Her latest comments come after an investigation was launched into the disgraced children's author, after the Metropolitan Police said it 'received a number of allegations of non-recent serious sexual offences'. 'Those who have come forward are being supported by specialist officers,' a statement from the force said on Friday.
The allegations made are separate from those previously reported as part of ITN and The Guardian's exposé. 'However, as part of their investigation, detectives are also proactively reviewing that reporting to establish whether there is any evidence of offences.'
It is understood that Walliams is currently receiving inpatient psychiatric care in a hospital, having attempted suicide two times previously. In his only statement in response to the accusations, which include pursuing junior HarperCollins employees and other unwanted sexual advances towards teens, Walliams acknowledged that he 'behaved thoughtlessly' in the past.
He said he regretted not taking 'people's feelings properly into account' during 'casual relationships'. '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 continued.
Walliams 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.'
