Brad Williams confesses to raping a woman in 2014 podcast, claims he was just joking after clip resurfaces
Comedian Brad Williams issued an apology on Tuesday after a 2014 clip in which he confesses to raping a woman resurfaced. Issuing an apology, the comedian said the incident never happened and he was only joking about it. Williams' apology came after a clip from a 2014 podcast he appeared in resurfaced on social media, sparking widespread outrage. The clip showed him bragging about raping a woman who thought he was someone else.
Williams took to Twitter to apologize for the story and admitted that he was just joking about the incident to make himself sound funnier on the podcast. The comedian also said that he was "high" when he appeared on the Doug Benson show 'Getting Doug With High.' Williams, during the segment, had said he had committed rape by deception when the woman he was raping thought he was fellow comedian Carlos Mencia, who was on tour with him at the time.
"When we went on a tour bus together and this girl was on the bus [who] just really wanted to sleep with Carlos," Williams said. "[She] got to the back of the bus and sat in the backseat. So you know Mencia's married so he turned off all the lights and then sent me and [I] started hooking up with the girl."
"It went for a good 15 minutes before she realized that Carlos is tiny but he shouldn't have stubby arms like that," he said. When the comedian was called out on the incident, he admitted that it was "technically" rape.
The controversial clip resurfaced on Twitter this week and many took to social media to slam the comedian. One user wrote: "There is nothing F***ING funny about rape no matter who the victim is or the perpetrators. Comedians Brad Williams & Carlos Mencia - the guy who arranged this assault - are an absolute disgrace and they need to blacklisted from the entertainment industry." While another posted: "This is f***ing disgusting. Brad Williams is canceled."
As the criticism of Williams' podcast heightened, the comedian took to Twitter, saying he "owed" an apology to his fans. He wrote: "A question was asked of me to describe a crazy story that happened on the road. I didn't have any crazy stories, but I didn't want to say 'no', this is a very popular podcast and I wanted to be funny, so I made up a story on the spot to try and be entertaining."
"Unfortunately the story was not funny at all and made light of an incredibly serious topic. I understand people were offended, and rightfully so, by me joking about such material and I want to take this opportunity to let you know that I regret what I said and apologise for the content of this story," he continued. "But I was to emphasize that it was just a story that I made up. It was an unfunny, horrible fabrication and the actions described in the story NEVER happened."
The comedian also added that he was "embarrassed and ashamed" of himself for making light of a serious issue and would do everything he could to make this right.