David Walliams, the former Britain's Got Talent judge, showed apparent disdain towards women during an interview in late 2022, according to a reporter who met him. The account comes after Walliams was named as the celebrity who unsuccessfully sought an injunction to prevent allegations about his behaviour towards women from being published.
Interview with Sheridan Smith
The interview was arranged by the BBC as a joint chat with Sheridan Smith about their festive film, Gangsta Granny Rides Again, based on Walliams' bestselling book. It was supposed to be a straightforward discussion about the production, with no curveball questions, and Walliams knew that.
Despite apparently being friends, Walliams seemed determined not to let Smith get a word in edgeways. He droned on about himself and his work, barely addressing the questions, and appeared distinctly unhappy whenever the reporter redirected a question to her. The plan to run the interview as an equal split between the two was quickly abandoned because Smith had not been given enough opportunity to contribute.
Dismissive manner
The reporter, who had been interviewing celebrities for years and was regularly doing six to ten similar interviews a week at the time, said Walliams' manner towards her was astonishingly dismissive. He rolled his eyes, seemed irritated by perfectly ordinary questions and behaved as though he was above answering them. She noted she had seen him interviewed by men and never noticed the same reaction.
The 20-minute encounter completely changed her opinion of Walliams, despite her having been a big fan of Little Britain and having enjoyed much of his work. She said she had been prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt over the Britain's Got Talent controversy, particularly as he was pursuing legal action.
Denial and statement
Following his identification as the celebrity who sought the injunction, Walliams denied abusing his power in relationships with women, although he acknowledged that he had sometimes behaved thoughtlessly towards people with whom he had casual sexual relationships. In a statement to the Guardian and ITV News, he said he regretted not always taking people's feelings into account, but insisted: "I am not a sexual predator" and "I have not broken the law".
The reporter said the interview left her with the distinct impression that Walliams thought he was better than the women he was speaking to. She noted that women were also a huge part of his audience, particularly after his ITV axing, and that had mothers decided not to let their children read his books, his career would have looked very different.
