David Walliams has been named as the high-profile celebrity who tried to prevent allegations of sexual misconduct being published by saying he would take his own life if they were revealed, after losing a High Court injunction bid.
The Guardian and ITV News named the 55-year-old comedian and bestselling children’s author on Tuesday 10 November, publishing a joint investigation that followed a three-year inquiry. Multiple women accused Walliams of abusing his “power and position as a celebrity to prey on them for sexual purposes when they were teenagers or young women”, according to the Guardian. Walliams denies all the allegations, including any criminal conduct, and no charge has been brought.
The failed injunction
Walliams had sought an injunction against Guardian News and Media and ITN, which produces ITV News, primarily on the grounds that he would again attempt suicide if the allegations were made public. The High Court in London rejected the application on 3 November.
His lawyers told the court he had attempted suicide twice, the first after receiving the journalists’ letters seeking his response in May, and that he had been hospitalised for months and examined by more than 10 doctors. Judge Matthew Nicklin found that Walliams has a “serious and longstanding psychiatric vulnerability and an elevated underlying risk of suicide”, and that publishing the allegations would pose a risk to his life — but that suicide was not inevitable.
Fallout within hours
The fallout was swift. His literary agent, Independent Talent Group, dropped him on 10 November, publisher HarperCollins announced it would cease publishing his work, and the BBC began pulling programmes including Little Britain and reviewing material featuring him. The Labour Party suspended him as a member, and Alton Towers announced the permanent closure of The World of David Walliams.
Walliams, who has sold more than 60 million books and was a judge on Britain’s Got Talent for 10 years, said he is “not a sexual predator” and has “not broken the law”, but admitted he had “behaved thoughtlessly towards other people I had casual sexual relationships with”. Police have contacted the news organisations to make sure potential victims know how to report, but no criminal investigation has been announced.
