Comedian Johnny Vegas has faced renewed scrutiny over an account from 18 years ago in which he was accused of kissing and groping a young woman during a performance.
Vegas, now 56, was alleged to have invited the woman, reportedly aged 18 or 19, onto the stage during a show at London’s Bloomsbury Theatre.
Journalist Mary O’Hara wrote at the time that Vegas kissed and groped the woman during the performance, describing the incident as leaving her “disgusted”.
Representatives for Vegas said the scene was consensual audience participation and that the woman had willingly agreed to take part.
Ms O’Hara described the “nervous” young woman being carried onto the stage by six audience members, referred to as “pallbearers”, before being told to lie still.
According to her account, Vegas crouched beside the woman while repeatedly saying, “don’t f***ing move”. She wrote that he then ran his hand up the woman’s leg and began pulling up her skirt.
“Each time he looked up to speak to the audience, she reached down and pulled her skirt back into place, but he continued to pull it up,” she wrote.
Ms O’Hara added that the more the woman was groped, the more anxious one of the “pallbearers” appeared. She alleged that Vegas then straddled the woman, pinning her to the floor, and kissed her for an extended period.
Ms O’Hara said about half the audience laughed along before Vegas asked whether the stage curtain could be lowered.
Vegas, then 55, was alleged to have brought the woman, reportedly aged 18 or 19, onto the stage during a performance at London’s Bloomsbury Theatre, where he was accused of kissing and groping her
Journalist Mary O’Hara wrote that Vegas kissed the woman on stage and described the incident as leaving her “disgusted”
When the curtain was not lowered, comedian Simon Munnery, who had performed earlier, reportedly returned to the stage carrying a coat and used it to shield the pair from view.
The account has resurfaced amid renewed attention on the entertainment industry following Russell Brand’s conviction for rape and sexual assault, as well as an investigation into allegations concerning David Walliams.
After Ms O’Hara’s article was published, Vegas began legal proceedings against its publisher, The Guardian.
The newspaper later amended the article, stating that Vegas’s lawyers had been in contact with the young woman, who reportedly told them she had “gone along with the joke willingly” and had not felt intimidated, frightened or abused.
The performance also prompted complaints on the NOTBBC forum. One attendee wrote that while no subject should necessarily be off-limits in comedy, even when the material was “lazy nonsense”, that principle applied to “words and ideas”.
“Once you’ve got someone pinned down on the stage, it becomes a rather different matter,” the attendee wrote. “I honestly don’t know what to think. Really, did no one else see it?”
Debate over the entertainment industry’s treatment of women intensified this week after Brand, 51, was sentenced to ten years and six months in prison for one count of rape and three sexual assaults.
On Tuesday, The Guardian and ITN published a series of allegations concerning comedian and writer David Walliams.
The allegations, which date back to 2003, include claims that Walliams “groomed” teenagers as young as 15 in an attempt to have sex with them. He denies the allegations and has said he is not a “sexual predator”.
Vegas, who is also an actor, has in recent years stepped back from stand-up comedy to concentrate on other projects.
The Daily Mail has contacted Vegas’s representatives for comment.
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