A broadcaster who once shared stages and studios with two men now facing grave accusations has been pulled back into a reckoning he did not choose. Jonathan Ross, speaking through a statement, says he was horrified and genuinely unaware of what Russell Brand and David Walliams were doing while he counted them as friends. The timing belongs to an older pattern in which an old joke, resurfacing in the light of new allegations, forces a public figure to account for what he laughed at, and for whom he was willing to stand beside.
Jonathan Ross 'Horrified' by Walliams and Brand Allegations, Says He Was Unaware of Conduct
Multiple women have made sexual misconduct allegations against Walliams, including grooming claims involving girls as young as 15, and Brand was jailed for raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others.
"Genuinely unaware" of their conduct, Ross says of Walliams and Brand
Mark
Why did Ross speak out now?
Mimi
Old footage of his 2004 Comedy Awards joke about Walliams and a 15-year-old resurfaced just as the Guardian and ITV News investigation named Walliams.
Luke
And the timing matters. Brand was jailed the day before, so Ross's past with both men was in the spotlight at once.
Mark
What does he say about the joke?
Mimi
That the Comedy Awards writing team submitted it, and he took it as exaggeration about Walliams dating younger women. He calls it tasteless.
Luke
That's his account. The report doesn't independently confirm who wrote it or what he understood at the time.
Mark
Is he accused of anything himself?
Mimi
No. The scrutiny is about association: shows with Brand, the 2008 Sachsgate episode, and being photographed with Walliams at an event one of the accusers attended.
Luke
Worth being clear that the photo shows proximity, nothing more. And the allegations against Walliams are allegations; he sought an injunction, and what he says in response isn't in this piece.
Mark
What should we watch?
Mimi
Whether more detail emerges about the joke's origins, and how the investigation develops.
Luke
Also unknown: whether anyone else will say they knew.
Der Puls
- A 2004 joke about David Walliams and a 15-year-old has resurfaced, and its punchline now lands with a cruelty nobody could have intended in the moment.
- A joint Guardian and ITV News investigation named Walliams after his bid for an injunction failed, leaving the allegations of grooming teenage girls exposed to the public.
- Ross, 65, is trying to separate his own ignorance from his public ties to Brand, who was jailed for ten and a half years for rape and sexual assault.
- Questions about his past proximity to both men, including the 2008 Sachsgate scandal and a photograph beside Walliams, are unlikely to fade quickly.
A broadcaster who once shared stages and studios with two men now facing grave accusations has been pulled back into a reckoning he did not choose. Jonathan Ross, speaking through a statement, says he was horrified and genuinely unaware of what Russell Brand and David Walliams were doing while he counted them as friends. The timing belongs to an older pattern in which an old joke, resurfacing in the light of new allegations, forces a public figure to account for what he laughed at, and for whom he was willing to stand beside.
Jonathan Ross has said he is horrified by the allegations against David Walliams and by the crimes of Russell Brand, and that he was genuinely unaware of their conduct while he was on friendly terms with both men. His statement to the Press Association came after footage surfaced of a joke he told at the British Comedy Awards in 2004, which poked at Walliams going home with a 15-year-old.
The statement arrived the same day Walliams was named as the subject of a joint investigation by The Guardian and ITV News. The 55-year-old author and former Britain's Got Talent judge had tried and failed to stop publication. The accusations include sexual misconduct and grooming teenage girls as young as 15.
Ross, 65, has long faced questions about Brand, who was jailed this week for ten and a half years after being convicted of rape and sexual assault. The two appeared together on several shows, and Ross featured on Brand's 2008 Radio 2 programme, the broadcast behind the Sachsgate scandal.
Ross says the 2004 joke was submitted by the awards writing team and was meant to mock Walliams's public dating of younger women. He calls it tasteless and says he would never make it today. Had he suspected it referred to real events, he says, he would have refused it and would not have stayed close to Walliams.
Jonathan Ross has said he is "horrified" by the allegations against David Walliams and by the crimes of Russell Brand, and that he was "genuinely unaware" of their conduct. He issued the statement to the Press Association after footage resurfaced of a joke he told at the British Comedy Awards in 2004, in which he made light of Walliams going home with a 15-year-old.
The statement came on the day Walliams was named as the subject of a joint investigation by The Guardian and ITV News. Walliams, 55, a best-selling author and former Britain's Got Talent judge, had tried and failed to obtain an injunction to stop the allegations being published. The accusations include sexual misconduct, grooming teenage girls as young as 15, and abusing his position to pursue women.
Ross, 65, has faced scrutiny over his past association with Brand, who was jailed on Monday for ten and a half years. Brand was sentenced for raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others. Ross appeared on several television shows alongside him. He also featured on Brand's BBC Radio 2 show in 2008, when the pair became embroiled in the scandal known as "Sachsgate". In that episode they left a voicemail for the actor Andrew Sachs, in which they made explicit comments about a relationship Sachs's granddaughter, Georgina Baillie, had had with Brand.
Ross was also pictured alongside Walliams at an event attended by one of the women who later made allegations about Walliams' conduct.
In his statement, Ross said he was as horrified as the rest of the nation. He said there was a time in his life when he was on friendly terms with both men, and that during that period he was genuinely unaware of their conduct.
On the 2004 joke, he said he recognised how deeply shocking it is to revisit the footage. He said the joke had been submitted to him by the Comedy Awards script writing team, and that he believed the punchline referred to the fact that Walliams had publicly dated younger women, exaggerated for comic effect. He called it a tasteless joke he would not dream of making today about anyone, though he added that this was beside the point.
Ross went on to say that had he had any reason to suspect the joke might refer to actual events, he would have refused to use it. He said he would also not have felt comfortable continuing a personal or professional relationship with Walliams.
The 2004 joke is now under renewed scrutiny, and Ross's past ties to Brand remain a focus of public questions.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
I am as horrified by the revelations about David Walliams and the crimes of Russell Brand as the rest of the nation.— Jonathan Ross, statement to the Press Association
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