David Walliams says he is “not a sexual predator” but admits behaving “thoughtlessly” as sexual misconduct allegations published

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David Walliams has said he is “not a sexual predator” and has denied breaking the law, while acknowledging that he may at times have behaved thoughtlessly in past relationships. His comments came as The Guardian and ITV News published allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment involving 30 women, following the end of a legal effort to prevent the reporting.

The allegations described by the outlets span from the early 2000s. Some women reportedly said they were teenagers when contact with Walliams began. The Daily Mail gives a more detailed account of one allegation: a woman who was 15 at the time said that, in 2007, Walliams took her to his former north London home and sexually assaulted her. The Mail also reports an allegation from a 19-year-old model who said he tried to kiss her at a party. These are allegations, not findings of fact, and Walliams has denied the claims.

In a statement to The Guardian and ITV News, Walliams said he regretted not always taking the feelings of women with whom he had casual sexual relationships properly into account. He accepted that fame creates a power imbalance, but denied abusing that power. He said he was devastated that some women he had met years earlier had since expressed hurt or anger. The outlets report that his statement had been sent to journalists months before publication; the Mail said he had not issued a further response after his identity became public.

Walliams had sought an injunction at the High Court against The Guardian and ITN, the organisations involved in the investigation, to stop publication. The court rejected the application and reporting restrictions ended on 10 November, allowing him to be named. The first source says his lawyers argued publication could put him at risk of suicide; it reports that the judge found no proper legal basis to restrain publication and that Walliams’s stated intentions were not certain. The first source also links the investigation to HarperCollins’ decision to stop producing his books, reporting that five junior staff members had made harassment allegations. Walliams is best known as a comedian and actor and as the author of bestselling children’s books.

The accounts differ in focus and detail. The first source summarises the investigation’s allegations against 30 women, the court ruling, the publisher’s decision and an ITV News documentary. The Daily Mail’s live coverage concentrates on individual allegations, including the account involving a 15-year-old and another involving a model, and adds details about Walliams’s former home. Those specifics are attributed allegations in the Mail’s reporting; they are not included in the first source’s summary.

• faroutmagazine.co.uk
• www.dailymail.com