David Walliams accused by multiple women of preying on young women and teenagers
Multiple women have accused David Walliams, who is 55, of using his power and celebrity status to prey on young women and teenagers for sex. The allegations were made public in a joint investigation by the Guardian and ITV News, which said it drew on accounts from 30 sources with first-hand knowledge. Walliams denies any wrongdoing regarding the allegations.
Two women said they first met Walliams when they were 15 years old. Now in their 30s, they said they had been groomed by him, a term generally used for an adult building a relationship with a young person in order to abuse them. Other accusations, according to the reporting, concern the alleged abuse of his position to pursue women through the television show Britain's Got Talent.
The investigation also reported that Walliams had a sexual relationship with a junior member of staff at HarperCollins, the children's book publisher he had worked with. HarperCollins is the company that published his books, and he is no longer associated with it.
Walliams had tried to stop publication. He sought a court order known as an injunction, which would bar a newspaper or broadcaster from publishing material. His barrister, Sara Mansoori KC (a senior barrister appointed as a King's Counsel), argued for a lifelong injunction. The High Court judge, Mr Justice Nicklin, dismissed the case. He ruled that the investigation concerned matters of substantial public interest, and that an injunction would be an exceptionally serious interference with press freedom.
The court proceedings took place while Walliams was in hospital. He was sectioned, the British term for being detained for psychiatric treatment under mental health law, the week before the High Court hearing, and he remained in a psychiatric hospital when the judge ruled. According to the Guardian, Walliams made two attempts to take his own life after the Guardian and ITV News first put the allegations to him in May.
On Monday, Walliams' lawyers confirmed that he would not appeal the ruling, which cleared the way for the allegations to be published. Walliams has denied any wrongdoing.
