David Walliams suffers serious setback after sexual assault lawsuit
David Walliams has landed in hot waters after allegations of inappropriate sexual conduct made against the comedian were revealed on Tuesday
The former Little Britain star, 55, has been unmasked as the celebrity who fought for a court order to suppress allegations that he sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl and preyed on multiple teenage girls while “abusing his status” to exploit teens.
On Tuesday, a three-year joint investigation by ITV News and The Guardian revealed a series of allegations dating back to 2003, with some accusers being as young as 15.
David denies all the allegations.
Fing!, which is based on the comedian’s book from 2019, is a fantasy adventure film that was co-written by David, who also has a cameo.
Matt Lucas plays the voice of Fing alongside Taika Waititi and Mia Wasikowska but wrote the screenplay alongside Veep screenwriter Kevin Cecil.
It centres on the character of Myrtle, the daughter of doting parents Mr and Mrs Meek (played by Blake Harrison and Mia Wasikowska) who deny their beloved child nothing.
When Myrtle suddenly declares that she wants a Fing, a mysterious, rare, one-eyed furry creature, her parents are forced to embark on a quest, while The Viscount (Taika) also tries to track down the creature for his own collection.
Sky had been due to release it in the UK next year but a spokesman for Sky told The Sun, “The allegations made against David Walliams are extremely serious.”
‘We have notified the producers of the film of our intention to exit our position as the UK & Ireland licensee of Fing,” they mentioned, adding, “We have already removed content which features him from our platform.”
In the US, the film will still get a release but producers have told Variety, David is being removed from the film, its promotion and marketing.
This comes after the BBC confirmed it is removing Little Britain and other shows featuring the comedian from iPlayer.
A BBC spokesman said, “These are serious allegations. As such, the BBC is looking carefully at all material featuring and written by David Walliams on our platforms. We are in the process of removing some programmes, including Little Britain, whilst this review is under way.”
As well as the comedy shows Little Britain and airport mockumentary Come Fly With Me, episodes of The Wheel and Would I Lie To You? featuring Walliams have been removed from BBC iPlayer.
The 2011 episode of Doctor Who titled The God Complex, which starred Walliams as the cowardly moleman alien Gibbis, has also been removed.
It is pertinent to mention that a three-year joint investigation by ITV News and The Guardian has revealed a series of allegations against Walliams dating back to 2003, with some accusers being as young as 15.
In a statement to The Guardian and ITV News, the comedian said, “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 continued, “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,” David Walliams expressed.
