- Published
ITV News and the Guardian have published reports alleging that David Walliams has been accused of sexual misconduct by several women, including one who was aged 15.
asserted
who → publish → one
The allegations were made as a part of a joint three-year investigation, external by the two news organisations, which was published after the entertainer lost a legal bid to stop the claims against him being made public.
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claims → make → him
Some of the women accuse Walliams of "grooming" them when they were teenagers.
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they → accuse → them
One now characterises her alleged encounter with Walliams at 15-years- old as a "sexual assault".
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One → characterise → assault
In a letter to journalists published by the Guardian, Walliams said he was "not a sexual predator" and had not "broken the law".
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he → publish → law
He said he "realised that at times I behaved thoughtlessly towards other people I had casual sexual relationships with" and said he regretted not always taking "people's feelings properly into account".
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he → say → account
Walliams shot to fame alongside Matt Lucas in the early 2000s with BBC sketch comedy Little Britain, and also served as a judge on ITV's Britain's Got Talent and launched a best-selling series of children's books.
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Walliams → shoot → books
The Guardian and ITV News say that several of the women, who do not know one another, allege they were targets of unwanted sexual advances from Walliams.
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they → say → Walliams
The allegations include:
One woman alleges she met Walliams at a fan event when she was 15.
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she → include → event
She says he groomed her and they had sex when she was 17
Another woman alleges she met Walliams for a coffee when she was 15, before going back to his house where he allegedly tried to lift up her shirt and commit an act that she now describes as a sexual assault
A woman who worked as a model in her teens accused Walliams of grooming her.
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who → say → her
A different woman who also worked as a model said Walliams tried to kiss her while showing her around his home
The investigation claimed Walliams had a sexual relationship with at least one junior employee at publisher HarperCollins, and pursued another
Other women allege inappropriate behaviour at ITV's Britain's Got Talent, such as inviting girls and young women to his dressing room
In a letter addressed to journalists working on the ITV and Guardian investigation, Walliams wrote: "Looking back, I realise that at times I behaved thoughtlessly towards other people I had casual sexual relationships with.
"
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I → work → relationships
I realise I did not always take people's feelings properly into account.
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I → realise → account
That is something I regret.
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I → regret → ?
And whilst a power imbalance is inevitable when one party is famous, abusing that power is something else entirely and it is something that I never did."
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I → abuse → that
He added: "I am not a sexual predator.
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I → add → ?
I have not broken the law, but I am devastated that some of the women I met 10 to 20 years ago have now expressed hurt or anger towards me."
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I → break → me
After the investigation was published on Tuesday, Walliams's long-time literary agent Independent Talent Group confirmed it had dropped him.
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it → publish → him
A BBC spokesperson described the allegations as "serious" and the corporation has removed Little Britain from BBC iPlayer.
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corporation → describe → iPlayer
The Metropolitan Police said it has contacted the Guardian and ITV News to "to ensure that any potential victims" are "made aware of how they could report any criminal allegations to police".
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they → say → police
One of the women who alleged Walliams "groomed" her as a teenager told BBC Newsnight she was "angry" at his behaviour.
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she → allege → behaviour
Lilly Creightmore - who Walliams contacted when she was 18 - waived her right to anonymity.
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she → contact → anonymity
Creightmore told Newsnight that a month after they first met, Walliams told her she "could move in with him and basically that I could be his flatmate".
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I → tell → him
She said that after she arrived to stay at his house she "felt instantly pressured to share a bed with him".
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she → say → him
"In the evenings, he would sort of come and sit with me and stroke my leg, and one night I think he put his head in my lap and sort of be like, 'are you sure you don't want to come and sleep in my bed with me?'
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you → come → me
I had an inner strength like, 'no I'm not attracted to you in that way'...
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I → have → way
I felt I was being manipulated," she added.
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she → feel → ?
She told Newsnight: "I am angry, I'm suppressing it well, but just that this culture of older men in positions of power needs to go, needs to stop.
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culture → tell → power
They're abusing their positions, using young people and abusing young people, and people of any age of course.
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They → abuse → course
There were too many men in power still, that are doing this and they need to go."
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they → be → this
Walliams's lawyers told the ITV News and Guardian investigation that he denied grooming Creightmore or acting inappropriately.
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he → tell → Creightmore
They added he did not "target" her because she was "vulnerable" or "young".
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she → add → her
Walliams said he believed his friendship with Lilly was a "special one" and felt "devastated" by her account.
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friendship → say → account
He denied the offers of help or gifts were attempts to groom, manipulate or coerce her into sleeping with him.
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offers → deny → him
Two women, given pseudonyms of Alex and Jade in the investigation, have alleged that they first had contact with Walliams when they were 15 years old.
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they → give → Walliams
Alex alleged that she met Walliams in 2004 at a fan event when she was 15.
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she → allege → event
She claimed that she and Walliams stayed in touch over the next two years and they had consensual sex for the first time when she was 17, the report alleged.
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report → claim → time
Asked how she feels about Walliams now, she told the investigation: "I think I was groomed.
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I → ask → investigation
Walliams told the publications he believed she was 18 at the time they had sex.
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they → tell → sex
The investigation said Alex had joked to Walliams in an email she was "old enough to go drinking", but was actually 17.
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she → say → drinking
Walliams denied grooming Alex.
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Walliams → deny → Alex
…and 23 more, not listed.
The Aporia
