How Katherine Ryan accused fellow comedian of being a ‘sexual predator’ and told Louis Theroux accusations against him were ‘an open secret’ – but refused to name the star warning it was ‘a litigious minefield’

Katherine Ryan previously claimed to have told a comedian ‘to his face’ that he was a sexual predator and that the allegations against the person were an ‘open secret’.

The Canadian comedian and writer told Louis Theroux that she confronted the unnamed man while they were working together on a public TV show “over and over again.”

Speaking in 2022, the 40-year-old said she had no qualms about that because she had decided to handle it “like a man” – although the confrontation itself was later removed from the broadcast.

In her conversation with Theroux, Ms Ryan claimed that she had been criticized afterwards for not publicly naming the person in question, but said that just talking about him was a “litigious minefield” because he had “very good lawyers”.

The comedian added that it was “not my story to tell” but that she believed the allegations as sources “very credible.”

In an interview with Louis Theroux, pictured with Ms Ryan last year, the comedian claimed she told the man ‘to his face’ that he was a sexual predator.

Ryan, who posted photos of herself playing her baby daughter on Instagram this morning, has spoken out candidly about sexual assault and misconduct on TV and on the comedy circuit.

During an episode of her Prime Video series Backstage with Katherine Ryan in June last year, the comedian told fellow comedian Sara Pascoe: “I did a show with someone who you and I think is a predator.”

Ms Ryan told Pascoe, who also knew the suspect’s name: ‘I raised it. I called him a predator every day to his face and in front of everyone.

The Independent reports she added: ‘What should I do? It’s such a messy case because I have no proof. What, shouldn’t I feed my kids because of someone else?’

She discussed the subject again later in the year in an interview with Louis Theroux during an episode of his BBC series Louis Theroux Interviews…

Speaking to the broadcaster, Ms Ryan said she felt people could be ‘cancelled’ if they ‘accuse too many men of sexual assault’ because that would result in you being ‘called a troublemaker and people will stop booking you’.

Theroux then asked, “You were recently in the newspaper for saying there was a ‘predator’ you were working with, and that you had informed the employers that he was a predator?’

Ms. Ryan clarified that she had not told his employers, but that “I told him to his face that he was a predator.”

She went on to say that she believed the person was a “perpetrator of sexual assault,” before adding that it was “very dangerous for us to have this conversation.”

Ms Ryan, pictured here at the National Television Awards earlier this month, said speaking about the alleged predator was a ‘litigious minefield’.

The comedian shared images of her with her adorable daughter after an early start on Sunday morning

Ms Ryan, pictured here on Loose Women in July last year, said the sources of the allegations against the man were ‘very credible’.

She said: ‘I’m glad I have it. It is a litigious minefield because many people have tried to arrest this person for their alleged crimes and this person has very good lawyers.”

The comedian said the reason she had not publicly named them was because it could have jeopardized her family’s position.

“So am I going to risk my mortgage by saying who this person is and having conversations like this?” she said.

“We’ve seen what happens to people who talk about alleged predators. I mean, it’s not really my story to tell.

‘No one has sexually abused me, but I believe very strongly that this person – as many people believe very strongly, it is an open secret – is a perpetrator of sexual violence.

Ms Ryan claimed that she “told this person’s face in front of a lot of people in the format of the show that they were a predator”, adding that she did it “over and over again”.

The Mock The Week and Taskmaster star added that her confrontation with the accused was removed from the show by editors before it aired.

She said: “I still got paid and I still did my job, but I did it in my way that I thought was fair.

“This is what we talk about — this is what female comics, actresses and women in my industry talk about all the time, because that’s the safest way to talk about it.

‘I didn’t tell any employers, didn’t blow any whistle and didn’t do anything. I handled it, for lack of a better term, like a man and said it to his face.”

Responding to criticism she received for not naming the person in question when her confrontation with them became public knowledge, she said: “They (the sources) are really credible.

“But every time these things are finally proven – and you look at Bill Cosby and you look at Harvey Weinstein and you look at the untold British personality – everyone knew it.

“I didn’t mean to make a fuss about it, I’m just saying things as they are.”

MailOnline has contacted Katherine Ryan’s representatives for comment.