All the celebrity reaction to David Walliams allegations as Piers Morgan wades in
The former Good Morning Britain presenter spoke out about Walliams, while Jonathan Ross has said he is “horrified” by the allegations, admitting he was once on friendly terms with the comedian but was unaware of his alleged conduct.
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he → wad → conduct
Taking to social media, Piers wrote: “Shocking, but unsurprising.
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Piers → take → media
Walliams has denied all the allegations.
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Walliams → deny → allegations
On Tuesday, November 10, The Guardian and ITV News reported that multiple women have accused the 55-year-old of sexual misconduct.
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women → report → misconduct
The allegations emerged after Walliams failed in a bid to secure an injunction preventing their publication.
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Walliams → emerge → publication
Walliams 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 and potential criminal activity.
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Walliams → bring → misconduct
Lawyers for the media organisations previously told the High Court in London that the allegations involved Walliams’ alleged “abuse of power and status” to contact young women and try to engage in “inappropriate and exploitative sexual activities”.
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allegations → tell → activities
Walliams unsuccessfully sought an injunction to prevent the publications, citing concerns about the impact on his mental health and referring to two previous suicide attempts.
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Walliams → seek → attempts
The anonymity the author had been granted was lifted after his injunction bid was dismissed, allowing GNM and ITN to publish their investigations.
In a letter by Walliams to journalists working on the ITV News and Guardian investigations, he wrote: “Looking back, I realise that at times I behaved thoughtlessly towards other people I had casual sexual relationships with.
“
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I → grant → relationships
I realise I did not always take people’s feelings properly into account.
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I → realise → account
That is something I regret.
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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.”
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I → abuse → that
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He added: “I am not a sexual predator.
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I → read → More
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.”
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I → break → me
Piers Morgan's feud with David Walliams
Piers worked on the first four seasons of the ITV series alongside Simon Cowell and Amanda Holden, which aired between 2007 and 2010.
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which → work → 2007
Walliams joined the judging panel in 2012 and remained on the programme until 2022, when he left following the emergence of recordings in which he had allegedly made derogatory comments about auditionees.
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he → join → auditionees
Walliams was reported to have called one contestant “c***” three times before claiming that one woman was like the "slightly boring girl you meet in the pub that thinks you want to f*** them, but you don't”, The Guardian reports.
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Guardian → report → them
Issuing a statement at the time, Walliams said: "I would like to apologise to the people I made disrespectful comments about during breaks in filming for Britain's Got Talent in 2020.
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I → issue → 2020
"These were private conversations and – like most conversations with friends – were never intended to be shared.
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These → intend → friends
Speaking about Walliams, he reportedly said: “I do have conversations with BGT every now and again, particularly after Simon had his injury.
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Simon → speak → injury
"But I couldn’t work with Walliams.
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I → work → Walliams
I think he is a duplicitous, treacherous, piece of work.
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he → think → work
I will come back to BGT if the money is right and if they guarantee Walliams gets fired.
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Walliams → come → BGT
I might even make it a contractual clause that I get to be the one who tells him he is fired.”
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he → make → him
Jonathan Ross ‘horrified’ by allegations
TV presenter Jonathan Ross has said he is “horrified” by the allegations of sexual misconduct against David Walliams and the crimes of Russell Brand.
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he → say → Brand
In a statement reported by the BBC, Ross said he had once been “on friendly terms with both men” but was “genuinely unaware of their conduct” at the time.
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he → report → time
Describing the remark as “tasteless”, Ross said he had been given the joke by the awards show's scriptwriting team and believed it referred to Walliams having publicly dated younger women, with the age difference exaggerated for comic effect.
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difference → describe → effect
He said: “This joke was submitted to me by the Comedy Awards script writing team and I believed that the punchline was a reference to the fact he had publicly dated younger women, exaggerated for comic effect.
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he → say → effect
“Had I had any reason to suspect that it might be referring to actual events, I would not only have refused to use it, but I would not have felt comfortable continuing a personal or professional relationship with him.”
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I → have → him
Ross, one of Britain's best-known television presenters, has hosted both Walliams and Brand on his chat show.
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Ross → know → show
He said he was “as horrified by the revelations about David Walliams and the crimes of Russell Brand as the rest of the nation”.
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he → say → nation
“My thoughts are with the many, many women who have bravely come forward,” he added.
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he → come → women
Ross and Brand were also at the centre of a separate controversy in 2008, when they left lewd voicemails for Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs during a BBC Radio 2 broadcast.
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they → leave → broadcast
The pair made comments about Brand's consensual relationship with Sachs's granddaughter, Georgina Baillie, prompting widespread criticism and an investigation by the BBC.
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pair → make → BBC
Lucy Beaumont comes forward as 'whistleblower'
Comedian Lucy Beaumont has revealed that a former TV worker confided in her about their experience working on a show with David Walliams around three years ago.
Beaumont said the worker claimed their job had involved taking “young girls” to Walliams’ dressing room, adding that they felt the women were vulnerable.
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women → come → room
She later tracked down one of the women allegedly involved, who she described as being in a “really bad way”, and offered to help pay legal fees relating to a non-disclosure agreement.
Beaumont said the woman declined her offer of support, despite her fears for her wellbeing. “I did as much as I could do privately and whenever I’ve heard a rumour about anyone, I’ve done everything I can,” she told Newman.
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she → track → Newman
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