Just months before he was dropped by his publisher, David Walliams expressed his fears about private messages containing ‘poor taste’ jokes being leaked.
HarperCollins recently axed the comedian and best-selling children’s author over allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards female employees. Walliams denies the claims.
Speaking at a cybersecurity convention in February, the Little Britain creator – famous for his dicey material over the years – told a small crowd that he often shares risqué jokes with pals over WhatsApp.
Walliams, 54, added that ‘it does worry’ him, knowing that said messages could one day be made public.
In an audio recording from the event, obtained by the Daily Mail, Walliams began through laughter: ‘Imagine if all my WhatsApp messages came out!
‘Not because there’s anything awful on there, but there’s jokes, bad taste jokes, with friends, other comedians, very bad taste comments and jokes, all the time, that you share with each other.’
He added to the audience: ‘You may notice that the kind of things you share with each other are often in quite poor taste.
‘I can’t imagine it’s just me, right?
‘Because it’s funny! And you know one or two of your friends are gonna find it funny, and people send you, kind of, bizarre things, and I just think, imagine if all that come up?’
‘Just what’s written now never sort of seems like a joke,’ he argued. ‘And also, you have different jokes with different people, don’t you?
‘I mean, my mum, I wouldn’t send her the stuff certain friends do.’
‘So yes, it does worry me,’ he confessed.
Walliams’ comments come after HarperCollins said they would not be releasing any further titles with him due to his alleged harassment of young women.
The former Britain’s Got Talent judge has sold over 60million copies globally with the publisher, with his most popular including Gangsta Granny, The Boy in the Dress, and Billionaire Boy.
However, ‘after careful consideration’, they said: ‘HarperCollins takes employee wellbeing extremely seriously and has processes in place for reporting and investigating concerns.
‘To respect the privacy of individuals, we do not comment on internal matters.’
In response, Walliams refuted the accusations on Friday, his statement via a spokesperson reading: ‘David has never been informed of any allegations raised against him by HarperCollins.
‘He was not party to any investigation or given any opportunity to answer questions.
‘David strongly denies that he has behaved inappropriately and is taking legal advice.’
In the aftermath, the TV star, also known for appearing in comedy shows including Come Fly With Me alongside Matt Lucas, was also removed from the lineup for the Waterstones Children’s Book Festival.
He had been due to appear at the Waterstones festival in Dundee in February 2026, but has since been removed from the list of speakers on its website.
Furthermore, award-winning writer Walliams is no longer an ambassador for The Children’s Trust.
He began working with the charity in January 2018, but the organisation confirmed in a statement to the Mail that, ‘after a review of [their] ambassador programme earlier in the year,’ they have parted ways.
Walliams will next be seen on screens over the Christmas period in a pre-recorded episode of the panel show Would I Lie To You.
The Boxing Day special was filmed in June, during which Walliams also made headlines after doing a Nazi salute twice in front of the studio audience.
Per The Times, one audience member recalled the incidents being ‘all very weird’.
‘There were gasps from the audience, and the other panellists all looked very uncomfortable,’ the individual remarked.
The BBC later issued an apology, a spokesperson saying: ‘The use of such an offensive gesture is completely unacceptable and we apologise to all at the recording for the offence caused.’
This was then echoed by Banijay UK (Zeppotron’s owner), who added: ‘Any attempt at humour regarding this deeply offensive gesture, whether broadcast or not, is completely unacceptable in any context.
‘It was immediately acknowledged during the recording that this segment would not be broadcast under any circumstances, and we apologise to those who were at the recording for any offence caused.’
While the episode will still air as scheduled, the BBC has no plans to work with Walliams again in the near future.
A spokesperson for the organisation said in a statement provided to Metro: ‘While we’re not making any changes to the festive schedules, we have no future projects directly involving David Walliams.’
Reps for David Walliams have been contacted for comment.
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