Government minister responds to Brand and Walliams scandals - ‘draw a line in the sand’
Warning: This article contains discussion of allegations of sexual assault which some readers may find distressing.
The TV industry has been warned that it must do more to protect women and children following the conviction of Russell Brand and allegations made against David Walliams.
UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the allegations against Walliams are the ‘latest in a long line of reported abuses of power’ after he was named as the ‘well-known celebrity’ accused of sexually inappropriate behaviour and grooming following an investigation by ITV and the Guardian.
Walliams denies all wrongdoing and said in a statement: “I am not a sexual predator. I have not broken the law.”
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The allegations against Walliams came just days after former comedian and actor Brand was convicted of rape and sexual assault and jailed for more than a decade.
UK ministers are now reportedly set to give the entertainment industry an ultimatum, telling bosses to introduce better protections and safeguarding or risk government action.
Nandy is expected to meet with industry leaders next week, taking in representatives from TV, film, publishing and potentially sport, to ‘draw a line in the sand’.
“A decade and a half on from the revelations about Jimmy Savile and 10 years on from the Me Too movement, we must finally take meaningful steps to end abuse and harassment in sectors where the power imbalances are huge and careers are built on contacts and reputation,” Nandy said.
She previously called for greater protections in the media industry following Brand’s conviction.
It is not yet clear which organisations Nandy will meet with or what requests she may make, but one government official told the Guardian the expectation was for voluntary action.
“The instinct is that Lisa would like the industries to show they are about to sort this out themselves, but we are not squeamish about stepping in if that does not happen,” they said.
Comedian Lucy Beaumont, who revealed herself to be one of the whistleblowers on Walliams, has also called for better industry standards.
In an interview on Sky News’ The Cathy Newman Show, Beaumont said she had never worked with Walliams but that she grew ‘really worried’ when a young TV worker told her he had to ‘take young girls’ who were ‘definitely’ over 16 to Walliams’ dressing room, adding: “He felt they were vulnerable.”
“At the time, he didn’t think there was a process, a way to let people know within the TV company what was happening and how he felt and I was really worried,” she said.
Calling for better safeguarding in the industry, she added: “People are saying, ‘why tell journalists?’ There’s no HR department in TV. There’s no proper duty of care.
“There’s no social services that you deal with and it’s partly because the industry is very well-managed.
“These things slip through the net because, I think there will be now, but there hasn’t been a process that you can deal with.”
LADbible Group has contacted David Walliams' representatives for a comment regarding Beaumont's claims.
Walliams, who was named after he unsuccessfully tried to obtain an injunction to prevent the reporting of allegations against him, has denied any wrongdoing.
In a letter shared with the media, he 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. 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 have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact The Survivors Trust for free on 08088 010 818, available 10am-12.30pm, 1.30pm-3pm and 6pm-8pm Monday to Thursday, 10am-12.30pm and 1.30pm-3pm on Fridays, 10am-12.30pm on Saturdays and 6pm-8pm on Sundays.
Topics: UK News, David Walliams, Russell Brand, Celebrity
Claire Reid
