You may remember last year how Gregg Wallace got hit with a whole bunch of misconduct allegations from ‘a handful of middle-class women of a certain age’ (his words). They accused him of making inappropriate sexual comments, asking for phone numbers of female production staff, undressing in front of and standing “too close” to women working on his shows, and more.
Well, following a nine-month investigation, Gregg Wallace is set to be fired from Masterchef, but has made it clear he will “not go quietly” by issuing a particularly furious statement on Instagram.
Here’s the statement in full:
“I have taken the decision to speak out ahead of the publication of the Silkins report – a decision I do not take lightly. But after 21 years of loyal service to the BBC, I cannot sit in silence while my reputation is further damaged to protect others.
“I have now been cleared by the Silkins report of the most serious and sensational accusations made against me. The most damaging claims (including allegations from public figures which have not been upheld) were found to be baseless after a full and forensic six-month investigation.
“My decision to go public now is also driven by the fact the BBC News division are intending to platform legally unsafe accusations, including claims which have already been investigated and not upheld by the BBC and found not credible by Silkins. The BBC is no longer providing balanced and impartial public service journalism. It is peddling baseless and sensationalised gossip masquerading as properly corroborated stories.
“The BBC is choosing to allow BBC News to run with this uncorroborated tittle tattle in an attempt to ‘get ahead’ of the Silkin’s summary report and derail what has been an extremely thorough process.”
Gregg explains how he believes the BBC is peddling “slanderous clickbait” rather than impartial journalism. He claims the report “exonerates me of all the serious allegations” and only confirms the use of inappropriate language between 2005 and 2018.
He continues: “I recognise that some of my humour and language, at times, was inappropriate. For that, I apologise without reservation. But I was never the caricature now being sold for clicks.
“I was hired by the BBC and MasterChef as the cheeky greengrocer. A real person with warmth, character, rough edges and all. For over two decades, that authenticity was part of the brand. Now, in a sanitised world, that same personality is seen as a problem. My neurodiversity, now formally diagnosed as autism, was suspected and discussed by colleagues across countless seasons of Master Chef.
“Yet nothing was done to investigate my disability or protect me from what I now realise was a dangerous environment for over twenty years. That failure is now being quietly buried.”
Finally, he writes: “I, and I’m sure the public, would like to know why? I will not go quietly. I will not be cancelled for convenience. I was tried by media and hung out to dry well before the facts were established. The full story of this incredible injustice must be told and it is very much a matter of public interest.”
Wow, that’s quite the statement eh? Unfortunately for Gregg, the BBC says that 50 more people have come forward since the investigation began to also accuse him of misconduct, and so it looks like they’re just trying to wash their hands of the situation. I am pretty surprised it took him until the final page of his statement to mention his neurodiversity/autism, so fair play to him on that. Pretty sure most autistic people manage to go through life without sexually harassing others all the time?
Well anyway, let’s see what else Gregg Wallace has up his sleeve in his mission to “not go quietly”. It seems like he does genuinely believe he’s innocent, so it will be interesting to see what approach he takes. Maybe he could accept defeat and start a YouTube channel or something? Just throwing ideas out there.
On the plus side, Gregg Wallace now has more time to spend ignoring his autistic son at home while he plays video games, so that’s nice.
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