On a Tuesday night, a broadcaster looked back at two old friendships that had become impossible to hold without shame. Jonathan Ross, who once shared stages and studios with David Walliams and Russell Brand, said he was horrified and insisted he had been genuinely unaware of what those men had done. The moment sits within a larger reckoning in which fame's proximity to power is being examined, and in which the women who were young, unseen, or dazzled at the time are finally being heard.
Jonathan Ross Says He Is 'Horrified' as Walliams Abuse Claims and Brand's Rape Conviction Resurface
Multiple women say they were groomed as teenagers by Walliams, and Brand was convicted of raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others.
Horrified, and "genuinely unaware of their conduct"
Mark
Why is Ross being drawn into this at all? He isn't accused of anything.
Mimi
It's about the old clips. A 2004 joke about Walliams and a 15-year-old resurfaced, and Ross had also worked closely with Brand. He answered both at once on Tuesday night.
Luke
Worth being clear: he is not accused of misconduct in the reporting. The scrutiny is about what he said on air and who he associated with.
Mark
What does Ross say about the joke?
Mimi
That the Comedy Awards writing team gave it to him, that he read it as a nod to Walliams dating younger women, and that it's tasteless. He says he'd have refused it had he suspected anything real.
Luke
That's his account of his own state of mind. The source says it's understood he didn't write the joke, but nothing here independently confirms what he knew or believed.
Mark
And the allegations against Walliams?
Mimi
A three-year ITV News and Guardian investigation, claims back to 2003, including two girls aged 15. He denies them and says he is not a sexual predator.
Luke
Those are allegations, not findings. He admits being thoughtless in casual relationships but denies abuse or lawbreaking.
Mark
Brand is different, though.
Mimi
Yes, he was convicted and sentenced to ten and a half years. Prosecutors are assessing more charges.
Luke
The Guardian's figure of at least 10 more suspected victims is that outlet's reporting. Whether charges follow is unknown.
El Pulso
- A three-year ITV News and Guardian investigation has named David Walliams, with claims reaching back to 2003 and including two girls aged 15.
- Walliams denies being a sexual predator, admitting thoughtless behaviour while insisting he never abused his fame.
- Russell Brand has been jailed for 10.5 years after being convicted of rape and sexual assault, and more women are coming forward.
- Jonathan Ross is scrambling to distance himself, calling his 2004 Comedy Awards joke tasteless and saying he never knew.
- Prosecutors are weighing further charges against Brand, and the Walliams allegations will continue to unfold after publication.
On a Tuesday night, a broadcaster looked back at two old friendships that had become impossible to hold without shame. Jonathan Ross, who once shared stages and studios with David Walliams and Russell Brand, said he was horrified and insisted he had been genuinely unaware of what those men had done. The moment sits within a larger reckoning in which fame's proximity to power is being examined, and in which the women who were young, unseen, or dazzled at the time are finally being heard.
On Tuesday night, Jonathan Ross issued a statement saying he was "horrified" by two stories that had landed on him at once: the allegations against David Walliams and the rape conviction of Russell Brand. He said he had once been friendly with both men but was "genuinely unaware of their conduct," and his thoughts were with the women who have come forward.
The statement followed the naming of Walliams as the central figure in a three-year investigation by ITV News and the Guardian. The claims reach back to 2003 and describe him preying on young girls, two of them aged 15. One schoolgirl described an encounter as sexual assault and said he told her to wait until she was 16. Several women say they were groomed as teenagers.
Walliams denies being a sexual predator. He says he behaved thoughtlessly at times toward casual partners and regrets not considering their feelings, but insists he never abused his fame or broke the law.
Ross has also been under fire because a 2004 Comedy Awards clip went viral again, in which he joked that the event, like a drunk 15-year-old, would probably go home with Walliams. Ross says he delivered a script-team joke he took as exaggerated comedy, calls it tasteless, and says he would have refused it had he known it referred to real events.
Brand, 51, was sentenced on Monday to ten and a half years for raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others. Police say more people have come forward, and prosecutors are assessing further charges. The Guardian reports that at least 10 more women are suspected of having been attacked by him.
What happens next depends on whether prosecutors bring more charges against Brand and how the allegations against Walliams develop.
On Tuesday night, broadcaster Jonathan Ross issued a statement saying he was "horrified" by two separate stories that have landed on him at once: the allegations against David Walliams and the rape conviction of Russell Brand. Ross said he had been friendly with both men at one time, but was "genuinely unaware of their conduct". His thoughts, he said, were with the many women who have bravely come forward.
The statement followed the naming of Walliams as the celebrity at the center of a three-year joint investigation by ITV News and the Guardian. Walliams had tried to stop Independent Television News, which produces news programmes for ITV and Channel 4, and Guardian News and Media, publisher of The Guardian, from publishing the claims. The investigation sets out allegations dating back as far as 2003. It says Walliams preyed on young girls for sexual purposes, including two who were 15. One of those schoolgirls described an alleged encounter as sexual assault and says he told her to wait until she was 16 for sex. Multiple women say they were groomed as teenagers and describe him as pushy and predatory.
Walliams denies wrongdoing. In his response he said that looking back, he behaved thoughtlessly at times toward people he had casual sexual relationships with, did not always take their feelings properly into account, and regrets that. He acknowledged that a power imbalance is inevitable when one party is famous, but said abusing that power is something else entirely and something he never did. "I am not a sexual predator," he said, adding that he has not broken the law and is devastated that some women he met ten to twenty years ago now express hurt or anger toward him.
Ross had been under fire because a clip from 2004 went viral again. At the Comedy Awards, he told the audience the event was 15 years old, and that like all 15-year-olds it was drunk, unpredictable and probably going home with David Walliams. It is understood Ross did not write the joke but delivered it. In his statement he called it tasteless and said revisiting it is deeply shocking. He said the script-writing team submitted it and that he took the punchline to refer to Walliams having publicly dated younger women, exaggerated for comic effect. Had he suspected it referred to actual events, he said, he would have refused to use it, would not have been comfortable continuing a relationship with Walliams, and likes to think he would have acted on that knowledge.
The Brand side of the scrutiny is tied to a court outcome. Brand, 51, was sentenced on Monday to ten and a half years in jail for raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others. He had been found guilty of one count of rape and three of sexual assault. Since the verdict, police have said several more people have come forward, and prosecutors are assessing whether to bring further charges. The Guardian reported that at least 10 more women are suspected of having been attacked by him.
Ross and Brand appeared on several TV shows together. In 2008 both were caught up in Sachsgate, after they left vulgar voicemails for actor Andrew Sachs on BBC Radio 2, making explicit remarks about Brand's relationship with Sachs' granddaughter, Georgina Baillie. At one point Ross shouted that Brand had slept with her. Brand resigned from the BBC and Ross was suspended from his show for three months. Baillie was 20 at the time and has said she was completely dazzled by celebrity.
Another moment has also drawn attention: the 2007 Channel 4 Big Fat Quiz of the Year, with Ross, Brand and Noel Fielding. Brand made rape jokes that fellow panellist Lily Allen later called really horrendous. In the episode Ross moved Allen, then 21, away from Brand and Fielding, saying as a sort of uncle figure that she should sit elsewhere.
What to watch now: whether prosecutors bring further charges against Brand, and how the allegations against Walliams, which he denies, develop after publication.
Citas Notables
I am not a sexual predator… I have not broken the law.— David Walliams
It is a tasteless joke that I would not dream of making today about anyone.— Jonathan Ross
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