British broadcaster and TV personality Jonathan Ross has distanced himself from and said he is horrified by allegations that have surfaced against comedian and children’s author David Walliams this week, just days after comedian Russell Brand’s rape conviction.
asserted
that → distance → conviction
Walliams is accused of grooming teenage fans, the sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl, as well as harassing young female colleagues, according to a three-year joint investigation by The Guardian and ITV News published on Wednesday (AEDT).
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Walliams → accuse → Wednesday
He has vigorously denied the allegations.
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He → deny → allegations
“I am as horrified by the revelations about David Walliams and the crimes of Russell Brand as the rest of the nation,” Ross said in a statement to The Guardian.
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Ross → horrify → Guardian
Following publication of the allegations, Ross has been criticised over a joke he made at the 2004 British Comedy Awards about Walliams going home with a 15-year-old.
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Walliams → follow → old
“This joke was submitted to me by the Comedy Awards scriptwriting team, and I believed that the punchline was a reference to the fact he had publicly dated younger women, exaggerated for comic effect,” the statement said.
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statement → submit → effect
Ross said that had he “any reason to suspect that it might be referring to actual events” he would have refused to perform the joke and ended his relationship with Walliams.
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he → say → Walliams
Hours after the allegations emerged, the ABC, Seven Network and Australian streamer Stan* had scrubbed the 55-year-old Order of the British Empire recipient’s shows from their platforms.
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ABC → emerge → platforms
Australian bookshop chain Dymocks’ chief executive David Allen confirmed that on Wednesday all stores had been told to immediately stop sales of, and remove from shelves, all of Walliams’ books and any related merchandise.
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stores → confirm → books
The allegations were initially blocked from publication after Walliams sought a suppression order in the British high court, his lawyers arguing that making the allegations public could lead to Walliams taking his own life.
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Walliams → block → life
The suppression order was denied, and Walliams has rejected allegations of any wrongdoing via his lawyers since the story was published.
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story → deny → lawyers
The London-born comedian came to fame in the early 2000s as a co-creator and star of the BBC sketch comedy show Little Britain, with Matt Lucas.
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comedian → bear → Lucas
The show was a hit here and in the UK, earning multiple BAFTA Awards.
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show → earn → Awards
Walliams and Lucas later partnered again for another BBC show, the airport comedy Come Fly with Me.
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Walliams → partner → Me
In 2008 Walliams began writing children’s books, including The Boy in the Dress, Gangsta Granny and Billionaire Boy, selling an estimated 60 million copies across the world.
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Walliams → begin → world
He was a judge on Britain’s Got Talent from 2012 to 2022, and also appeared as a judge on the Australian version of the show in 2022.
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He → appear → 2022
The comedian won the National Television Award for Best TV Judge four times as BGT’s host, and more than 50 million copies of his novels have been sold worldwide.
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copies → win → novels
The BBC adapted several of Walliams novels into comedy dramas and touring theatre productions.
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BBC → adapt → dramas
In 2006, Walliams was voted Britain’s most inspiring public figure at the Pride of Britain awards, and in 2017 he received an Order of the British Empire for services to charity and the arts.
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he → vote → charity
A number of women have detailed their experiences of being allegedly groomed or experiencing inappropriate behaviour from Walliams dating back to 2003.
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number → detail → 2003
In The Guardian’s report, a woman named Alex, recalls meeting Walliams when she was 15 years old and he was 32.
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he → name → Walliams
As an aspiring comedian, she gave him some of her work for advice.
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she → give → advice
He called her and the pair were in contact for about two years, before they began allegedly having sex, by which time Alex was 17.
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Alex → call → sex
Diary notes of the time Walliams began contacting Alex show the teenager elated by the fact she was talking to him.
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she → begin → him
Alex also alleges that Walliams told her how to pose in explicit images while she was underage.
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she → allege → images
The comedian’s lawyers say he understood her to be 18 when they began having sexual contact, and that he does not recall or believe he asked Alex to send him sexual pictures of herself.
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he → say → herself
Walliams’ lawyers also say Alex’s allegations that he groomed her are false and caused him significant distress.
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he → say → distress
“I want to vomit [when I think about the experience],” Alex told The Guardian.
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Alex → want → Guardian
“I hate him.
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I → hate → him
My body reacts when I think about it.
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I → react → it
It’s like a trauma response.
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It → ’ → response
I never said no … but I felt unable to say anything or have any control in that situation once I was with him.”
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I → say → him
Jade, another teenager in The Guardian’s report said she also met Walliams when she was 15, in 2007.
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she → say → 2007
Weeks after he first made contact via social media, he allegedly invited her to his house and initiated sexual contact.
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he → make → contact
She had previously told Walliams she was a victim of sexual abuse.
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she → tell → abuse
I didn’t want to do that with him or with anyone.
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I → want → anyone
And I didn’t – I didn’t want to be touched in that way at all.
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I → do → way
I mean, I was only a 15-year-old,” Jade told The Guardian.
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Jade → mean → Guardian
Lawyers for Walliams say he denies he had any sexual contact with Jade.
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he → say → Jade
The allegations also cast new light on an incident in 2007, when Little Britain was on tour in Australia.
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Britain → cast → Australia
…and 26 more, not listed.
The Aporia
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