Comedian Nish Kumar has claimed that people in the comedy industry knew David Walliams had been booked on shows with a policy that forbade young women from going into his dressing room.
Walliams, a children’s author, TV personality and one of the creator-stars of the sketch comedy Little Britain, was this week accused of sexual misconduct with girls as young as 15 following investigative reports by The Guardian and ITV News. Walliams has denied all the allegations.
Speaking on his podcast Pod Save the UK, Kumar claimed: “The thing that we had all heard... [that] the comedy industry knew about David Williams is in the last few years, there were instances of him being booked on shows where the instruction was: no young women to go into his dressing room.”
Kumar, 41, called out the “enablers” within the industry who had continued to platform Walliams.
Referring to the alleged policies preventing women being alone with Walliams in his dressing room, Kumar added: “If you can't have 50 per cent of the population of the country in a room with a guy, don't f***ing put him on your show.”
The episode also folded in discussions of Russell Brand, who was this week sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison, after being convicted of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault.
“The entertainment industry is saying, ‘This is very terrible. This person is being punished.’ What about all of the people that knew about this stuff and acted to protect them?” Kumar added.
“What about the protection rings that surrounded these men for years and years? What about the people that knew that they were unsafe, and so would take decisions like not letting women be around?”
Kumar added that the reason “these people” were “able to succeed and thrive and continue to have careers even while their behaviour was an open secret” was because of “protection” from others in the industry.
“The protection rings that surround them have not been dealt with,” he said. “And the producers that continue to work with these people continue to work in our industries. Things will start changing when there is accountability for the enablers of these men.”
In the weeks before the Walliams story was published, lawyers for the former Britain’s Got Talent had sought a injunction in court preventing him from being named.
They argued that the release of the story posed a risk to his life, following two recent suicide attempts.
A judge dismissed the bid for an injunction; Walliams was given permission to appeal, but did not. The investigations were then published the day after the appeal deadline expired.
In a letter addressed to the journalists who had worked on the investigation, Walliams wrote: “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. 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.”
If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI) or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.
If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call or text 988, or visit 988lifeline.org to access online chat from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.
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