Raquel Dobson

David Walliams has just released one of the most sickeningly calculated PR statements I have ever read, and he only did it because the High Court finally threw out his expensive legal injunction to keep his name a secret. ITV and The Guardian have officially named him as the television star accused of preying on girls as young as 15. Look at the exact language his crisis managers instructed him to publish today. He claims he simply behaved "thoughtlessly" during "casual sexual relationships" and regrets not taking people's feelings into account. He admits to a power imbalance but insists he never abused it. You do not have a casual, thoughtless sexual relationship with a 15-year-old. You cannot dismiss allegations of preying on teenagers as just being a bit clumsy with women's emotions. We are watching the exact same playbook we just saw collapse in Southwark Crown Court. Another untouchable television darling, protected for decades by a complicit media, using high-priced lawyers to gag the press while trying to reframe predatory behavior as a minor lifestyle quirk. The darkest part of this entire scandal is how the British entertainment industry operates. They knew exactly who these men were. They did not just cover for them. They handed them prime-time family television slots, gave them awards, and literally published their children's books, all while leaving young girls to deal with the trauma in total silence. The expensive legal injunctions are finally failing. The dam is breaking, and the networks that enabled them are going to have nowhere left to hide.