Embattled actor Noel Clarke will not be charged criminally for the accusations made against him in 2021, but the effect on his career has been detrimental. The two-time BAFTA winner has spoken out after Metropolitan Police officially ceased their investigation into Clarke’s alleged wrongdoing. Police say that the allegations did not “meet the threshold for further police inquiry.”
Speaking with The Daily Mail for the first time since the investigation was closed, Clarke described how the allegations had not only cost him several acting roles but even resulted in the closure of his production company. He laments how he had been tried and convicted in the court of public opinion and the media while not actually going to a real trial with genuine criminal charges. As Clarke puts it, it feels like “McCarthyism” for the actor.
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During the peak of the controversy, BAFTA had suspended Clarke’s membership along with withdrawing his award for outstanding achievement in British cinema. The news followed the publishing of reports at the Guardian and GQ Magazine that featured complaints made by over 20 women over 15 years. Complaints included alleged instances of groping, inappropriate comments, and secretly filming an undressed actress and showing the footage to a producer. Clarke is suing BAFTA, the Guardian, and GQ’s publisher Conde Nast for defamation.
Noel Clarke Thinks a Return to Acting is Unlikely
Clarke says most of the allegations against him are false, but takes responsibility for making “saucy” comments on movie and TV sets, remarks he said were jokes meant to lighten the mood. He says he “100 percent” regrets all of this now, admitting that he “should have known better” at the time.
Be that as it may, Clarke insists he’s never groped or harassed anyone. He also pointed out how BAFTA receive no first-hand allegations of the actor’s alleged misconduct, as they came from “second- or third-hand accounts via intermediaries.” Clarke also feels that his “assassination” came about through his accusers banding together to make “bold statements” at the height of the MeToo movement.
