David Walliams sues BGT bosses after axe over X-rated rant about contestants
David Walliams is suing his former bosses at Britain's Got Talent after he was axed as a judge over X-rated comments he made about contestants.
The fan favourite judge, 52, shocked Britain’s Got Talent fans in November 2022 when he announced he was set to leave the long-running show. The comedian-turned-children's author joined the judging panel in 2012 alongside Simon Cowell, 63, Amanda Holden, 52, and Alesha Dixon 44.
However, he quit the show last year as he reportedly felt it was "time to move on and focus on his other projects". His exit came after he was forced to apologise after audio of him making vile comments towards BGT contestants was leaked.
The disrespectful conversations were made during filming at the London Palladium in 2020. During one intimate discussion, David described a contestant as a "c**t", before claiming another contestant would think the judge wanted to "f**k her".
David was a judge on BGT for ten years before his sudden resignation (ITV)Last year, The Guardian obtained several transcripts of conversations between Walliams and the unknown person, including one calling a male contestant a "c**t" on three occasions after the pensioner appeared to make a lighthearted jibe at Walliams.
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Another comment came after a female auditionee walked off the famous stage, with Walliams heard to be saying: "She's like the slightly boring girl you meet in the pub that thinks you want to f**k them, but you don't".
He then added: "I know, she’s just like: ‘Oh, f*** off!’ I was saying, she thinks you want to f*** her, but you don’t. It’s the last thing on your mind, but she’s like: ‘Yep, I bet you do!’ ‘No I don’t!’ I had a bit of a b****, but now it’s going, it’s now shrivelled up inside my body."
Despite the harshness of the comments, the lawyers who represent him and the show's production company Thames TV, argued that the comments were part of a private conversation and not meant for the public.
The news resulted in a mass of headlines and sparked a wave of criticism of the star. Not long after the recordings were leaked, it was announced the comedian would be stepping down from his position as a judge on the show.
His comments were picked up by microphones used to capture discussions between the judges when they are sitting at their desk in the centre of the auditorium. The recordings are understood to have been made for potential broadcast in Britain’s Got Talent or other spin-off shows, which often feature candid remarks made by the judges between auditions.
Walliams apologised for making the "disrespectful comments" during filming breaks. In a statement he said: "I would like to apologise to the people I made disrespectful comments about during breaks in filming for Britain’s Got Talent in 2020.
"These were private conversations and – like most conversations with friends – were never intended to be shared. Nevertheless, I am sorry."
However, Walliams now appears to be suing Britain's Got Talent bosses over the scandal. Walliams and his lawyers have reportedly argued they were part of private conversations that were never intended for broadcast.
He is now going into court battle with BGT production company, Fremantle, over the situation. The former BGT judge and children's author, lodged papers at London's High Court last Thursday, according to The Sun.
The papers appeared under his real name, David Edward Williams. The former BGT judge has accused production company Fremantle of a 'data protection breach' over the leaked transcript which ended ended his career on the hugely popular ITV show. Walliams has reportedly hired legal powerhouse, Brandsmiths, who specialise in data protection breaches.
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The Mirror has contacted David Walliams' representatives for comment.
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