A famous comedian and children's author has lost his attempt to stop a joint investigation by ITV News and the Guardian from being published, and the accounts it contains are now set to enter public view. Several women say that, as teenagers or young women, they were sexually targeted by a man whose fame gave him access and leverage, with some describing grooming from the age of 15. He rejects every specific allegation, though in a letter to the reporters he conceded he had sometimes behaved thoughtlessly in casual sexual relationships. The court's decision settles only the question of whether
What we know about the allegations against David Walliams, which he denies
Multiple women allege they were sexually targeted by Walliams as teenagers or young women, including claims of grooming girls as young as 15.
He lost a court fight to stop the allegations being published
Mark
Start with the basics. What actually happened here?
Mimi
Walliams went to court to stop ITV News and the Guardian publishing an investigation. He lost, and the allegations came out: multiple women say he used his fame to target them sexually when they were teenagers or young women.
Mark
How serious are the claims?
Mimi
They include grooming girls as young as 15 and harassing women in the workplace.
Luke
Careful, though. Those are allegations. The reporting says he denies all of them, and the court ruling only allowed publication. It didn't find anything proven.
Mark
But he did say something in a letter, didn't he?
Mimi
He told the journalists that at times he behaved thoughtlessly toward people he had casual sexual relationships with.
Luke
Which is not an admission of the allegations. It's a general line about casual relationships, and we don't know how it maps onto any specific claim.
Mark
So what don't we know?
Luke
How many women, exactly, what each one says, and what evidence sits behind it. The source says multiple, not a number.
Mimi
And what the investigation says in full is still to come out in detail, along with any further response from him.
Mark
Why does the court fight matter?
Mimi
It shows he tried to keep this from being published at all, and that a court let it proceed.
Der Puls
- A court bid to block publication has failed, and the investigation's contents are now cleared to surface.
- Multiple women allege sexual targeting by David Walliams when they were teenagers or young women, including claims of grooming girls as young as 15.
- Walliams denies all allegations, yet has admitted in a letter to journalists that he behaved thoughtlessly in casual sexual relationships.
- Allegations of workplace harassment add a second front, and the reporting is expected to draw further detail and responses in the coming days.
A famous comedian and children's author has lost his attempt to stop a joint investigation by ITV News and the Guardian from being published, and the accounts it contains are now set to enter public view. Several women say that, as teenagers or young women, they were sexually targeted by a man whose fame gave him access and leverage, with some describing grooming from the age of 15. He rejects every specific allegation, though in a letter to the reporters he conceded he had sometimes behaved thoughtlessly in casual sexual relationships. The court's decision settles only the question of whether the reporting may proceed; whether the accounts are true remains for public scrutiny to weigh.
David Walliams has lost his court fight to stop ITV News and the Guardian from publishing an investigation into his conduct toward young women. The ruling means the allegations can now be read by the public, and the reporting will carry the accounts of several women who say he used his celebrity to prey on them as teenagers or young women.
The claims are grave. Some women allege he groomed girls as young as 15, and others describe harassment in the workplace. Walliams denies every specific allegation. In a letter to the journalists, however, he wrote that at times he had behaved thoughtlessly toward people he had casual sexual relationships with, which is the only acknowledgment attributed to him so far.
Two questions are now being separated. One is what the women say happened to them. The other was whether the public could read it at all, and that has been decided: the court found the reporting could go ahead, though it did not rule on whether the allegations are true.
The BBC's entertainment correspondent Lizo Mzimba has set out what is known, and the BBC has directed anyone affected to its Action Line for help. More detail and responses are expected as the investigation becomes public.
David Walliams has lost a court fight to stop the publication of allegations about his conduct toward young women. The comedian and children's author had tried to block an investigation by ITV News and the Guardian. The ruling went against him, and the allegations are now public.
The investigation brings together accounts from multiple women. They allege that Walliams used his celebrity status to prey on them for sexual purposes when they were teenagers or young women. The allegations include claims that he groomed girls as young as 15, and that he harassed women in the workplace.
Walliams denies all of the allegations. In a letter sent to the journalists working on the investigation, however, he wrote that at times he had behaved thoughtlessly toward other people with whom he had casual sexual relationships. That sentence is the only acknowledgment attributed to him in the material available, and it sits alongside a blanket denial of the specific claims.
The case has two strands that should be kept apart. One is the substance of what the women say happened to them. The other is the legal contest over whether the public would be allowed to read it. Walliams brought the court action to prevent publication, and he lost. The judgment does not decide whether the allegations are true; it only determines that the reporting could go ahead.
The BBC's entertainment correspondent, Lizo Mzimba, has set out what is known so far. The BBC has also directed anyone affected by the story to its Action Line, where help and support are available.
With the court ruling clearing the way, more detail from the investigation and further responses from Walliams and others are likely to follow. What the women have alleged, and what he has said in reply, will now be tested in public.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
At times I behaved thoughtlessly towards other people I had casual sexual relationships with.— David Walliams, in a letter to journalists
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