Jonathan Ross breaks silence to explain infamous David Walliams joke

Résumé détaillé

TV host 'horrified' by allegations against Walliams, as well as the crimes of Russell Brand, both of whom he was 'on friendly terms' with ...

TV presenter Jonathan Ross has released a statement saying he is “horrified” by allegations against David Walliams, and by the crimes of Russell Brand.

Ross, who says he was “on friendly terms with both men” but was unaware of their conduct, also sought to explain a joke he made about Walliams at a comedy awards night in 2004, saying he did not write it and had thought it was “exaggerated for comic effect”.

Multiple women have accused Walliams, 55, of sexual misconduct, including when they were teenagers. The allegations were published on Tuesday after an investigation by The Guardian and ITV News. Walliams denies any wrongdoing, stating that he is not a sexual predator and has not broken the law.

Brand was jailed on Monday for 10 and a half years for raping a woman and sexually assaulting three others during his showbusiness career.

The conviction of Brand, and the allegations against Walliams, have led to renewed attention on colleagues and friends of the two men, amid questions over how much was known about their behaviour with women.

Ross appeared on several television shows alongside Brand and also featured on his BBC Radio 2 show in 2008, when the pair became embroiled in the “Sachsgate” scandal over a voicemail they left for actor Andrew Sachs.

Ross also appears in a photograph featured in the ITV documentary, David Walliams: Power and Silence.

He was pictured alongside Walliams at an event also attended by one of the women who later made allegations about Walliams’ subsequent conduct.

“I am as horrified by the revelations about David Walliams and the crimes of Russell Brand as the rest of the nation,” he said in a statement released to the Press Association.

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