Resurfaced television clips show the late comedian Sean Lock criticising both David Walliams and Russell Brand in the years before allegations against them came to light. The clips are now circulating widely on social media.
Lock, who died in 2021 at the age of 58 following a battle with cancer, made the comments during appearances on the Channel 4 show 8 Out of 10 Cats.
Comments on Russell Brand
During a 2014 episode, Lock spoke about Brand, saying: "Probably the reason I hate him so much is that I am a dad, and I have this fear that one day my daughters will bring something like that home. And he will come in and go so, 'Oh such pleasure to be in your charming abode...'"
Lock also claimed that Brand had "back-pedalled so much" from his earlier stance encouraging people to avoid polling stations and question who one was supposed to vote for. He added: "So if you reduce that to what he is actually saying, he is saying what everybody says on every bus stop: 'Huh politicians. What are they like hey? How did that lot get in, bloody hell.'"
Spice Girl Melanie C, who was on Lock's team at the time, appeared to side with Brand as she wondered how things would ever change unless people came together as a whole. Lock responded: "Him saying stuff to people who are disaffected already and are not engaged with the political process and don't vote is the most moronic, self-serving, pathetic bit of attention-seeking w*** that has ever been spewed out of a moron's f***ing mouth in history."
Reaction to Walliams Joke
Five years earlier, Lock had reacted in horror to a joke made by Walliams following the death of Michael Jackson, who had admitted to sharing his bed with children. Walliams said: "Have you heard Michael Jackson is dead?" When Jimmy Carr said yes, the Little Britain star joked: "If it is wrong to share your bed with 13-year-old boys then lock me up and throw away the key."
Some audience members laughed, but Lock did not join in, with a clip showing him looking blankly ahead during the routine rather than at Walliams.
Context of Allegations
Earlier this week, Brand was sentenced to 10 and a half years in prison for rape and sexual assault. Walliams has been the subject of a joint investigation by the Guardian and ITV News, with accusations that he used his celebrity status to prey on vulnerable teenagers and young women for sex. He has denied all allegations of wrongdoing.
Reacting to the resurfacing of the clips, one social media user wrote: "I love the timeline for reminding me how much Sean Lock hated both Russell Brand and David Walliams."
Walliams denies any wrongdoing and said he is 'devastated' by the claims. In a letter to journalists working on the investigation, he wrote: "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."
