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Jonathan Ross has released a statement saying he’s ‘horrified’ about the allegations surrounding David Walliams.
Walliams, 55, was named on Tuesday as the subject of a joint investigation by The Guardian and ITV News, after unsuccessfully attempting to obtain an injunction to prevent the publication of allegations against him.
The former comedian and TV star has been accused of sexual misconduct, including alleged grooming of teenagers and abusing his position of power. He denies all allegations against him.
Walliams’ friend Jonathan Ross, who shared a now viral ‘tasteless’ joke about him with ‘drunk with 15-year-olds’, has now issued a statement in the wake of the allegations.
Celebrity Traitors star Ross, 65, also appeared in a photograph featured in the investigation’s accompanying ITV documentary, David Walliams: Power and Silence.
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.
(Picture: Dave Benett/Getty Images for #Merky)
‘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.’
In recent days The Jonathan Ross show has come under fire for featuring both Ross and Brand, who was jailed for over 10 years for rape and sexual assault on Monday.
Ross also 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.
Ross has also addressed the joke he made at the Comedy Awards in 2004, insisting he didn’t write the punchline.
David Walliams’ statement in full
‘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… I am devastated that some of the women I met ten to twenty years ago have now expressed hurt or anger towards me.’
The presenter 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.’