Jonathan Ross said he was “horrified” by the allegations about David Walliams and the crimes of Russell Brand, adding that he was “genuinely unaware of their conduct”.
Walliams was named on Tuesday as the subject of a joint investigation by The Guardian and ITV News after the former Britain's Got Talent judge had unsuccessfully sought an injunction to stop the publication of the allegations against him.
Multiple women have accused the celebrity of sexual misconduct in an investigation published by The Guardian and ITV News, alleging he used his fame to prey on them for sexual purposes.
Walliams denies all allegations against him, and is not under criminal investigation.
Walliams has told journalists working on the ITV News and Guardian investigations: “Looking back, I realise that at times I behaved thoughtlessly towards other people I had casual sexual relationships with.
“I realise I did not always take people’s feelings properly into account. That is something 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.”
He added: “I am not a sexual predator. 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.”
In a statement to the Press Association, Ross said: “I am as horrified by the revelations about David Walliams and the crimes of Russell Brand as the rest of the nation.
“There was a time in my life when I was on friendly terms with both men, and during that period I was genuinely unaware of their conduct.
“My thoughts are with the many, many women who have bravely come forward.”
Ross appears in a photograph featured in the investigation's accompanying ITV documentary, David Walliams: Power and Silence.
He was pictured alongside Walliams at an event also attended by one of the women who later made allegations about Walliams' conduct.
The Jonathan Ross Show host has faced scrutiny over his past association with Brand, who was jailed on Monday for 10-and-a-half years for raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others.
Ross appeared on several television shows alongside Brand and also featured on his BBC Radio 2 show in 2008, when the pair became embroiled in a scandal involving Georgina Baillie.
The incident, dubbed “Sachsgate”, saw the pair leave a voicemail for her grandfather, actor Andrew Sachs, during which they made explicit comments about a relationship she had with Brand.
In his statement, Ross also addressed making a controversial joke about Walliams and 15-year-olds at the British Comedy Awards in 2004 after footage resurfaced online.
Ross said: “I recognise how deeply shocking it is to revisit footage of a joke delivered by me at the Comedy Awards in 2004, in which I make light of the notion of Walliams going home with a 15-year-old.
“This joke was submitted to me by the Comedy Awards script writing team and I believed that the punchline was a reference to the fact he had publicly dated younger women, exaggerated for comic effect.
“It is also a tasteless joke that I would not dream of making today about anyone, but that is beside the point.
“Had I had any reason to suspect that it might be referring to actual events, I would not only have refused to use it, but I would not have felt comfortable continuing a personal or professional relationship with him.
“I also like to think that I would have acted upon that knowledge.”
