JONATHAN Ross has broken his silence after sex abuse claims emerged against David Walliams and Russell Brand was convicted of rape – saying he is “horrified”.
The presenter said he was friendly with both men at one time but said he had been “genuinely unaware of their conduct”.
Walliams was yesterday named as the celebrity accused of preying on young girls and employees.
The Little Britain star had attempted to block Independent Television News (ITN), which produces news programmes for ITV and Channel 4 and Guardian News and Media, publisher of The Guardian, from publishing the claims against him.
A three-year joint investigation by ITV News and the Guardian has now revealed allegations dating back as far as 2003 against the star.
Walliams has been accused of preying on young girls for sexual purposes – including two as young as 15.
One of the schoolgirls said an alleged encounter amounted to “sexual assault” and claims he told her to wait until she was 16 for sex.
Multiple women have also claimed they were “groomed” by the star when they were teens and have painted the star as “pushy” and “predatory”.
Walliams denies any wrongdoing and insists he is “not a sexual predator”.
Ross had come under fire after a 2004 clip of him making a joke about Walliams having sex with a teenager went viral.
He told the audience: “The Comedy Awards is 15 years old. 15 years old.
“And like all 15-year-olds, it’s drunk, it’s unpredictable and it’s probably going home with David Walliams.”
It is understood Ross did not write the joke, but simply delivered it.
On Tuesday night the presenter broke his silence on the sex claims against Walliams and Russell Brand‘s rape conviction, saying his “thoughts are with the many, many women who have bravely come forward”.
Ross called the 2004 joke “tasteless”, saying: “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.”
The presenter has also faced scrutiny over his past association with Brand, who was handed a 10-and-a-half year jail sentence on Monday for raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others.
Brand and Ross appeared on several TV shows together and both were caught in a scandal in 2008 when they left a series of vulgar voicemails on BBC Radio 2 in 2008.
The pair left messages for actor Andrew Sachs, making explicit comments about a relationship between Brand and his granddaughter Georgina Baillie.
At one point, Ross explicitly shouted, “He f***ed your granddaughter!”
The scandal, which became known as Sachsgate, saw Brand resign from the BBC and Ross suspended from his TV show for three months.
Sachs’ granddaughter Georgina was just 20 at the time of the fling, and said she was “completely dazzled by celebrity”.
Brand is facing multiple fresh allegations in the wake of his 10 year jail sentence as cops reveal “several” people have come forward.
Jonathan Ross’ statement in full
“I am as horrified by the revelations about David Walliams and the crimes of Russell Brand as the rest of the nation.
“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.
“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.”
After the 51-year-old was found guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault, it was revealed that more women had come forward.
Prosecutors are assessing whether to bring further charges against the convicted rapist.
The Guardian reported that at least 10 more women are suspected of having been attacked by Brand.
Ross, Brand and Noel Fielding appeared on Channel 4’s Big Fat Quiz of the Year together in 2007, in which Brand made jokes about rape later described by fellow panellist Lily Allen as “really horrendous”.
In the episode, Ross moves Lily, then just 21, away from Brand and Fielding.
Ross explained: “I’m a bit concerned because look where you’ve put us – you’ve put the only sexually attractive young lady – near two of the best known cocksmen of the business.”
“I’m going to insist as a sort of uncle figure in Lily’s life that she moves over there. And then, Lily might go home with her dress still on.”
Walliams has denied the allegations against him, saying: “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.”