The celebrities who spoke out against David Walliams and Russell Brand BEFORE they were exposed

The article revisits celebrities who criticised Russell Brand and David Walliams before serious allegations against the two comedians became public. It contrasts those warnings with the comedians’ popularity and with other public figures who joked about Walliams’s behaviour towards women. Walliams denies wrongdoing; the article says Brand was jailed for ten-and-a-half years after convictions for rape and sexual assault.

It highlights Katy Perry, Dannii Minogue and Katherine Ryan speaking about concerns over Brand, as well as Bob Geldof’s public clash with him in 2006. Sean Lock criticised Brand and reacted angrily to a joke by Walliams, while Lucy Beaumont recalled hearing that Walliams hosted teenage girls in his dressing room. The article also describes a 2007 television exchange in which Lily Allen later regretted not speaking up when Brand and Noel Fielding joked about rape.