Murdoch press reportedly killed stories to protect David Walliams

David Walliams’ relationship has been terminated with his publisher, Harper Collins, following allegations of ‘inappropriate behaviour’ towards junior female employees at the company. Now, the Daily Mail is reporting that their rivals at the Sun were killing stories related to Walliams:

David Walliams: The Daily Mail reveals that “showbusiness reporters at The Sun were told to drop negative stories about Walliams because both that newspaper and HarperCollins are owned by Rupert Murdoch's NewsUK, even sharing offices near London Bridge.”https://t.co/20san4VV95 pic.twitter.com/QjDUu6hO6s

— Sarah_Woolley (@Sarah_Woolley) December 20, 2025

Shield the abuser, pay off the victim

The allegations first surfaced in 2023, reportedly prompting an in-house lawyer to interview staff who worked with David Walliams. Several female employees were allegedly affected by Walliams’ behaviour, with the Daily Mail reporting that female employees were advised to ‘work in pairs’ around the star. Female employees were also ordered not to visit his house.

The Telegraph reports that one of the women ‘harassed’ by Walliams received a five-figure payout before leaving the publisher.

These revelations follow the incident on Britain’s Got Talent when Walliams was heard on microphone making sexist, derogatory comments about contestants on the show.

Five Leaves Bookshop is one of a number of bookshops selling children's books that deliberately did not sell David Walliams' books. We did not feel comfortable doing so.

— Five Leaves Bookshop (@FiveLeavesBooks) December 19, 2025

As a woman in publishing, and a Harper Collins author, I knew about Walliams. Everyone did. It was called an 'open secret'. Why? New piece on my substack. pic.twitter.com/lJ6Xa4biHn

— Milli Hill (@millihill) December 19, 2025

Does anyone else remember watching this sketch by David Walliams when it was first aired, and thinking to themselves at the time, "you'll be standing there in real life before you're done mate".#DavidWalliams pic.twitter.com/riftv4ky0o

— Alex Campbell (@10011_1010100) December 20, 2025

David Walliams: shielded by attack-dog lawyers and vested interests

The Daily Mail report that David Walliams was protected by the aggressive celebrity law firm, Schillings. Instead of holding Walliams to account for his behaviour, the victims were made to risk criminal proceedings against them if they dared speak out.

Adding more fuel to the fire, it’s reported that the Sun’s showbusiness reporters were instructed to kill any negative stories relating to the celebrity. Notably, Rupert Murdoch owns both Harper Collins and the Sun.

For years, allegations around David Walliams were an open secret, widely known and repeatedly looked past. This is how harm hides in plain sight. No more. Huge credit to the women who spoke out, and to the reporters whose investigations made this possible. https://t.co/UvRl4V234Z

— David Challen (@David_Challen) December 19, 2025

Bullies on pedestals and none the wiser

A billionaire media mogul has a significant monopoly on the information that the wider public see, which can have very real implications for wider society. Demonstrating the influence that his media empire grant him, Murdoch leveraged assurances from Keir Starmer that there would not be a Leveson 2.0 inquiry should Labour win in 2024. As James Wright wrote for the Canary in July of that year:

Rupert Murdoch family-owned News UK received “private assurances” that Keir Starmer’s Labour Party government would not carry out an inquiry into press standards, according to iNews. News UK-owned titles the Sun and the Sunday Times then endorsed Starmer, once they’d gotten assurances that Leveson 2 would not go ahead.

Leveson 2 is the would-be second part of the Leveson Inquiry into press standards. The first part was launched in 2011. That’s after Murdoch-owned and now defunct News of the World had been found to be hacking phones.

In light of these new revelations about David Walliams, it’s clear the government needs to break up these corrupt billionaire-owned media companies.

Featured image via FT