Publisher David Walliams dropped for alleged inappropriate behaviour David Williams

He was fired by his publisher, David Walliams, after investigating allegations of inappropriate behavior towards young women, The Telegraph reported.

Williams, one of Britain’s most successful children’s book authors, was reportedly the subject of complaints that he had “harassed” junior female employees at Harper Collins in the UK, prompting the publisher to decide that it would no longer issue new books by the author.

One of the women who raised her concerns is understood to have left the company after reaching a settlement that included a five-figure payout.

HarperCollins, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, reportedly conducted an internal investigation after a junior employee filed a complaint in 2023. Sources cited by the Telegraph said that following the investigation, steps were taken to limit contact between Williams and some employees. The measures reportedly included ensuring that some employees did not work directly with him, advising them to attend meetings one-on-one and discouraging visits to his home. The Telegraph reported that Williams was not informed of the HarperCollins investigation while it was ongoing and that its findings were not formally presented to him.

The decision to sever ties came after Charlie Redmayne, former CEO of HarperCollins, abruptly stepped down in October and was replaced by Kate Elton on an interim basis.

In a statement to The Guardian, a spokesperson for HarperCollins said: “After careful consideration, and under the leadership of its new CEO, HarperCollins UK has decided not to publish any new David Walliams titles.”

Williams rose to prominence in the early 2000s as co-creator and star of the BBC’s Little Britain, which became a cultural phenomenon and made him one of the UK’s most popular comedians. He later became a familiar television personality through his roles as a presenter and judge on Britain’s Got Talent. Since 2008, Williams has reinvented himself as a children’s author, achieving enormous commercial success. He has authored more than 40 books and short story collections – in 2019, it is estimated that he sold books worth £100 million.

However, Williams, 54, has come under fire in recent years. Critics have challenged aspects of his writing, including the use of stereotypes. In 2021, Brian Wong’s story, Who’s Never Wrong, about a Chinese boy, was removed from Williams’ book The World’s Worst Children.

Williams left his role as a judge on Britain’s Got Talent in 2022 after 10 years, when The Guardian reported on a leaked script showing him making rude remarks about female contestants during auditions in 2020. He referred to one contestant as a “cunt” and said “she thinks you want to fuck her, but you don’t,” about another. Williams apologized for the comments.

A spokesperson for Walliams has been contacted for comment.