‘Avoid him’: Female comedians expose ‘creepy’ male comics in newly released group chat messages

With the serious accusations laid against David Walliams and the recent jailing of Russell Brand, there’s a great deal of attention on the comedy world. 

After failing to appeal the injunction to keep his name private, David Walliams was named as the celebrity everyone’s been cryptically talking about for weeks. At the same time, Russell Brand was jailed for 10 years and six months earlier this week after being found guilty of various s*x crimes. 

It’s put the comedy world under a microscope, so comedian Kate Smurthwaite did an interview on Newsnight. There, she revealed private messages from a female comedian group chat that outlined the lengths those female comics go to protect one another. 

"I shared a car with him a couple of months ago. He's awful. I've warned promoters about him since then, but I keep seeing he still gets booked."

Comedian Kate Smurthwaite shares messages from a group chat of other female comics, where they warn each other about the behaviour of… pic.twitter.com/PnAm7PNjUX

— BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) November 11, 2026

Female comics warned each other: ‘Avoid him if you can’

While the identities of the female comics are understandably anonymous, as are the “creepy” men they were talking about, the messages highlight some of the unspoken hurdles female comedians have to overcome. 

“Has anyone gigged for [redacted] or [redacted] with any bad experiences?” one woman questioned, to which another replied, “Beyond rude shambolic and mainly audience-free.”

Besides being rude, one woman said he was “creepy as f**k”, which recieved two thumbs-up emojis and the response: “Sooooo creepy, avoid him if you can!!”

Another woman said that a male comedian was booking gigs under another name because of his little-known reputation. Someone else questioned pulling out of a job because of the man involved, and she asked for guidance. 

Most Read

86 days to four years: The 12 Love Is Blind divorces, ranked by how long the couple lasted

Scott from the Love Is Blind reunion got engaged on the show, but Netflix cut it

Revealed: The court documents filed by Sarah in her divorce from John after Love Is Blind

Credit: Newsnight

Someone else wrote: “Shared a car with him a couple months ago. Awful. Have warned promoters about him since but I have seen he still gets booked.”

While undoubtedly upsetting, Kate Smurthwaite pointed out something most (men) wouldn’t consider: This issue isn’t just a problem in comedy circles. 

Credit: Newsnight

She explained: “I don’t think it’s unique to the comedy industry, I think that there are women in similar groups in banks, women in similar groups in call centres. I don’t think there’s a magic place where this doesn’t happen.

“I do think comedy has its unique risks, it’s a freelance-heavy industry. When work is offered to you it’s very hard to say not. There’s no easy place to ascertain who you’re gonna be working with. And it happens late at night and people are often drunk, so there’s those risk factors.”

It echoed sentiments from comedian Lucy Beaumont, the David Walliams whistleblower, who shared her fears about being blacklisted from the entertainment industry as a result of speaking out. She too felt the need to take action. 

In light of the recent news, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy is looking into better safeguarding measures in the entertainment world. 

For more like this, like The Tab on Facebook.

Featured image credit: Newsnight/BBC