LONDON (AP) — British children's author and comedian David Walliams has denied allegations of inappropriate behavior after publisher HarperCollins dropped him.
Walliams, 54, is one of the U.K.'s bestselling children's book authors and a former judge on the TV show “Britain's Got Talent.”
In a statement on Friday, HarperCollins said: "After careful consideration, and under the leadership of its new CEO, HarperCollins UK has decided not to publish any new titles by David Walliams. The author is aware of this decision.”
A spokesperson for Walliams said in a statement that he “has never been informed of any allegations raised against him by HarperCollins.”
“He was not party to any investigation or given any opportunity to answer questions. David strongly denies that he has behaved inappropriately and is taking legal advice," the statement said.
The publisher said it would not comment on internal matters, “to respect the privacy of individuals.”
“HarperCollins takes employee wellbeing extremely seriously and has processes in place for reporting and investigating concerns," it said.
Walliams has published over 40 children's books and sold more than 60 million copies worldwide, according to his website. Several of them, including “Gangsta Granny,” have been adapted into a BBC comedy dramas and stage productions.
Walliams left his role as judge on “Britain's Got Talent” in 2022 after apologizing for making “disrespectful comments” about auditioning contestants.
FILE - TV personality, comedian and author David Walliams arrives in the Royal box on Centre Court during the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Tuesday, July 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)
FILE - David Walliams poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film "The Choral " during the London film festival in London, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has privately discussed the possibility of firing Attorney General Pam Bondi and replacing her with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, three people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Thursday.
In those conversations, Trump has discussed his ongoing frustration with Bondi over her handing of the Jeffrey Epstein files and hurdles the Justice Department has encountered in investigations into Trump’s perceived enemies, the people said. The Republican president has mentioned other candidates but has raised Zeldin’s name as recently as this week, the people said.
The people were not authorized to publicly discuss the private conversations and spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity.
No decision has been announced, and Trump has been known to change his mind on personnel decisions.
"Attorney General Pam Bondi is a wonderful person and she is doing a good job,” Trump said in a statement produced by the White House.
Zeldin, a former Republican congressman from New York, has been publicly and privately praised by Trump, who at an event in February described him as “our secret weapon.”
Bondi, a former state attorney general in Florida and a Trump loyalist who was part of his legal team during his first impeachment case, has been in her position for more than a year. She came into office pledging that she would not play politics with the Justice Department, but she quickly started investigations of Trump foes, sparking an outcry that the law enforcement agency was being wielded as a tool of revenge to advance the president’s political and personal agenda.
She has also endured months of scrutiny over the Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein files that made her the target of angry conservatives even with her close relationship with Trump.
Under Bondi’s leadership, the department opened investigations into a string of Trump foes, including Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, New York Attorney General Letitia James, former FBI Director James Comey and former CIA Director John Brennan.
The high-profile prosecutions of Comey and James were quickly thrown out by a judge who ruled that the prosecutor who brought the cases was illegally appointed. Other politically charged investigations have either been rejected by grand juries or failed to result in criminal charges.
Attorney General Pam Bondi listens during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Thursday, March 26, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump walks from the Blue Room to speak about the Iran war from the Cross Hall of the White House on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)
