British children’s author and comedian David Walliams denied allegations reported by ITV News and the Guardian after a court rejected his bid to block their identification.
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British children’s author and comedian David Walliams, 55, denied allegations of sexual misconduct reported by ITV News and the Guardian on Tuesday, following the rejection of his effort to prevent identification.
ITV News and the Guardian said they spoke with multiple women who accused Walliams of using his fame to groom girls and young women for sex.
One woman told the outlets that Walliams sexually assaulted her when she was 15.
The reports followed Walliams’ attempt to obtain a court injunction to bar the outlets from identifying him; according to the coverage, a judge rejected his injunction request last week but protected his identity until late Monday.
Walliams denied the allegations, saying, “I am not a sexual predator,” and, “I have not broken the law,” according to ITV.
In court, his lawyers argued that publication of sexual misconduct allegations would lead him to take his own life, and the outlets’ reporting said his lawyer Sara Mansoori told the court that he had made a suicide attempt when he received letters seeking his response and that he later made another attempt.
The reporting also said Walliams was recently admitted to hospital for psychiatric care.
A High Court summary of Tuesday’s judgment quoted the media companies’ position that the allegations involved “abuse of power and status” and attempts by Walliams to contact young women to engage them in “inappropriate sexual activity.”
Justice Matthew Nicklin dismissed the injunction bid, stating that the legal measure would mean “an exceptionally serious interference” with the rights of the media companies.
The judge said Walliams had a “serious and longstanding psychiatric vulnerability” that must be taken seriously and that allowing the allegations to be published would substantially increase his risk of suicide, while also adding that the evidence did not “establish that suicide is inevitable.”
The case attracted attention in Britain, according to the reporting, for raising questions about public figures’ right to privacy and what the media can report based on the public interest.
Walliams was dropped last year by HarperCollins after allegations were made of inappropriate behaviour.
According to his website, Walliams has published more than 40 children’s books and sold more than 60 million copies worldwide, and he stepped down as a judge on “Britain’s Got Talent” in 2022 after apologizing for making “disrespectful comments” about auditioning contestants.
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