Fans of Lucy Beaumont have rallied around the comedian after she expressed fears of blacklisting over speaking out about David Walliams.
Walliams, a bestselling children’s author and one of the creator-stars of the controversial sketch show Little Britain, was this week accused of sexual misconduct with women and girls as young as 15 years old. He has denied all wrongdoing.
Beaumont told Sky News this week that she had given information to The Guardian – who, in collaboration with ITV News, published the explosive investigation into Walliams – said she didn’t think she would “work in telly again” as a result.
However, sales of her 2021 book Drinking Custard: Diary Of A Confused Mum, have reportedly spiked, with the motherhood-themed memoir currently sold out on Amazon in both hardback and paperback versions.
People have also voiced support for her on social media, and stated that they have been spurred to buy tickets to her live comedy shows.
TV presenter Sarah Cawood wrote that she had bought tickets to Beaumont’s show, “Because she put herself on the line, and I'm grateful AND she's f***ing funny”.
She added the hashtag “#supportlucybeaumont” and wrote: “See you on the 31st January you f***ing warrior.”
Ticketing websites for Beaumont’s ongoing tour show suggest strong sales, with few seats available on forthcoming dates.
Speaking to Sky News about her relationship to the Walliams investigation, Beaumont, 43, said she had been approached by a TV worker who claimed he had been tasked with taking “young girls” over the age of 16 to Walliams’s dressing room.
“I did as much as I could do privately and whenever I’ve heard a rumour about anyone, I’ve done everything I can,” Beaumont said. “There’s only so much you can do. I’m not the police,” she continued. “But I was really worried, and I was one of the whistleblowers.”
She added: “I was worried that these girls were young. What I did was I then tried to contact some of them to check and to ask if they were all right.”
Speaking about potential career repercussions, the comedian – who has appeared on series such as Taskmaster and Would I Lie to You? – claimed: “Honestly, I don't think I'll work in telly again. I honestly don't.”
Walliams responded to the allegations in a letter addressed to the journalists behind the investigation.
“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,” he said.
“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…
“I am not a sexual predator… I have not broken the law… I am devastated that some of the women I met ten to twenty years ago have now expressed hurt or anger towards me.”
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