David Walliams: Grooming Claims Published After Court Bid Fails
Allegations against comedian and author David Walliams have been published after a judge rejected his attempt to block them. Several women say he groomed or pursued them when they were teenagers; Walliams denies abusing his position and says he is not a sexual predator.
Grooming claims against David Walliams were published after a judge rejected the comedian’s bid to block reporting by ITV News and The Guardian, with allegations including that he pursued girls when they were teenagers.
Walliams denies abusing his position. The claims followed a three-year investigation, and a court fight had delayed publication for months.
Allegations span nearly two decades
Several women accused Walliams of grooming, pursuing or harassing them, according to the investigation. Two alleged that he approached them when they were 15.
One woman said Walliams groomed her from age 15 and that they had sex when she was 17 and he was 34. She described the encounter as consensual but said it felt “pushy” and that he treated her “like a prostitute.” His lawyers said he believed she was 18.
Another woman alleged that Walliams contacted her on social media when she was 15. She said he later invited her to his home and pulled up her top and sucked her breast.
One woman alleged that Walliams sexually assaulted her at his London home when she was 15. Other women said he first contacted them on social media. Six of those women were models aged between 19 and 22 at the time, and one said he tried to kiss her while showing her around his home.
The investigation also reported allegations involving a junior female employee at HarperCollins UK: Walliams allegedly had an inappropriate sexual relationship with her and pursued another employee. The reporting involved more than 30 people with first-hand accounts.
Walliams denies abusing his position
In a letter to the journalists, Walliams said he had sometimes behaved thoughtlessly in casual sexual relationships and regretted not taking other people’s feelings properly into account.
“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 wrote. “I am not a sexual predator.”
He also said: “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.”
Walliams had sought an injunction to stop publication, primarily arguing that he would attempt suicide if the allegations became public. A judge rejected the request last week, and protection of his identity expired late on Monday, local time.
Walliams became known through the sketch show Little Britain, which he created with Matt Lucas. He later served as a judge on Britain’s Got Talent from 2012 until 2022, and his children’s books have sold more than 60 million copies worldwide.
