Noel Clarke, The Guardian co-creator caught in allegation row involving “20 women” leaves Twitter scandalized

Several women have reported that “The Guardian” co-creator Noel Clarke has allegedly "harassed and bullied" them. He vigorously denied the allegations in a statement to the newspaper and said that,

“In a 20-year career, I have put inclusivity and diversity at the forefront of my work and never had a complaint made against me. If anyone who has worked with me has ever felt uncomfortable or disrespected, I sincerely apologize. I vehemently deny any sexual misconduct or wrongdoing and intend to defend myself against these false allegations.”

BAFTA, the British Academy of Film Awards, suspended Clarke's membership in the company after "20 women" alleged that he violated their rights. Clarke has also had his Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema award suspended until further notice. The award was handed to him in April 2021.

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A deeper glimpse into Noel Clarke’s history

Clarke is a 45-year-old actor, producer, and writer. He is married to Iris Da-Silva, and they have two children together.

Clarke made his film debut with the movie “I'll Sleep When I'm Dead in” 2003, and he is well known for his role as Mickey Smith in “Doctor Who,” “Star Trek Into Darkness” in the part of Thomas Harewood, and being co-creator of “The Hood” Trilogy.

Image via Getty Images

He is also well-known for his role as Sam in the movie “Kidulthood” (2006), “Adulthood” (2008), and “Brotherhood" (2016).

Among his many achievements are the:

• Laurence Olivier Award for Most Promising Performer in 2003.
• Dinard British Film Festival for Best Screenplay in 2006.
• BAFTA's Orange Rising Star Award in 2009.
• Screen Nation Film and Television Awards for Achievement in Film Production in 2017.

The allegations of Clarke “harassing” and “bullying” became public on April 29th, 2021. One of the accusations against him is that he allegedly recorded an unclothed audition of actor Jahannah James without her consent and shared it with a producer who worked for him.

On Friday, April 16th, 2021, which was 13 days before presenting Clarke with his award, BAFTA was notified about the existence of several allegations against the actor. While accepting his award on Friday night, Clark was blissfully unaware of the accusations.

In response to anonymous emails and reports of allegations, BAFTA said they had not received any evidence from which they could conduct investigations. BAFTA’s decision to cover up the accusations against Clarke moved several women to break their silence and speak out against the actor.

Read the statement from BAFTA below:

“In light of the allegations of serious misconduct regarding Noel Clarke in The Guardian, BAFTA has decided to suspend his membership and the Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema award immediately and until further notice.”

BAFTA verified that, following the April 29th announcement, they planned to give Clarke the award. Lawyers for BAFTA said the foundation had no obligation to investigate the accusations.

“We take this matter extremely seriously. We encouraged the people who contacted us to report the matter to the appropriate authorities and also engaged an independent victim support expert to provide them with professional advice, and that support remains in place.”

They further stated that,

“We will continue to review this matter, and should any allegations be substantiated we will take appropriate action.”

After The Guardian’s article was published, BAFTA updated their statement. It read:

“In light of the Guardian’s piece, which for BAFTA provided for the first time detailed accounts outlining serious allegations regarding Noel Clarke’s conduct, we have immediately suspended the award and Noel Clarke’s membership of BAFTA until further notice.”

For now, Clarke is vehemently pushing back against the accusations and is actively working with the legal team to clear the air. Besides his public image being blemished, the only major consequence from this debacle was his suspension from BAFTA.