Former model and Real Housewives star Leilani Dowding has dismissed claims she dated David Walliams and insists that they only met once and never saw one another again.
Leilani Dowding has revealed she was left baffled after an “odd” and “awkward” comment from David Walliams. The former model and TV star has hit out at claims that she once dated the scandal-hit comic.
The Little Britian star, 55, was named by ITN and The Guardian as a male public figure who sought an injunction to keep allegations about his conduct private. A court heard how the publications had planned to report on his alleged “abuse of power and status” in order to try to engage in “inappropriate and exploitative sexual activities”.
Walliams, who has always denied the allegations made against him, has been accused of abusing his power and position for sexual purposes on a number of occasions, with teenagers as young as 15. Several women made allegations against him.
But after being romantically linked to Walliams, Leilani has now stated that their only encounter was 22 years ago. She said: “I did not ‘date’ David Walliams; we went out once.”
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“I have no memory of how we met, or how he had my number, as it was 22 years ago. I wouldn’t even remember the year; it wasn’t for the article,” she said after a publication claimed she engaged in a romantic relationship with Mr Walliams.
She went on to claim that Walliams had asked her out for dinner, but he was “awkward” and “not flirtatious”.
The former Real Housewives of Cheshire star continued: “He said, ‘You look cool. If I was a woman I’d want to dress like you’. I found it the strangest compliment, which is why I remember it. I was wearing jeans, a satin baseball jacket, and a baseball cap…
“As it turned out. I wasn’t attracted to him because he was very camp, and I like men who are tough and alpha… He didn’t hit on me. I assumed he was equally unattracted to me…”
Leilani, who is engaged to The Cult’s Billy Duffy, added: “I don’t think we spoke again after.
“Other than his comment that he’d dress like me if he was a woman, and I found it very odd… Nothing is clear, as it’s 22 years ago, and I’ve had a load of first dates that have led to nothing.”
“So there was no ‘dating’, and we didn’t even kiss,” she said, adding that she had “no clue” about the allegations surrounding him.
Shortly after her encounter with Walliams, Leilani moved to Los Angeles, where she lived for 15 years before returning to the UK in 2019. She said of her age when she spoke to Walliams: “I was 25 at the time and an adult.”
“Very uneventful, like the rest of my life,” she said. In the wake of allegations following an investigation by ITN and The Guardian, Walliams denied any wrongdoing, adding that he was “devastated” by the claims.
In a statement, Walliams said: “I realise I did not always take people’s feelings properly into account. That is something I regret. And whilst a power imbalance is inevitable when one party is famous, abusing that power is something else entirely, and it is something that I never did.
“I am not a sexual predator. I have not broken the law, but I am devastated that some of the women I met 10 to 20 years ago have now expressed hurt or anger towards me.”
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