If you're of a certain age, you remember what Lily Allen's pop culture presence was like in the mid-to-late 2000s.
Similar to many female-identifying celebrities during the time, Lily was subject to near-constant coverage and scrutiny from the British tabloids and media in general.
In 2007, Lily appeared on the BBC program The Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2007 alongside other British celebs like Jonathan Ross, Jimmy Carr, Noel Fielding, and Russell Brand — the latter of whom has recently faced multiple rape and sexual assault allegations.
At 2:55 in the above video, Jonathan offers to move Lily, "the only sexually attractive young lady" on the show, away from Russell and Noel to a "sexless zone." “And then Lily may go home with her dress still on,” he follows up.
Lily's response to his comment is pretty obvious.
"How dare you? We're not rapists," Noel replies with mock outrage.
"Why are you wearing a cape if you're not a rapist?" Jimmy asks.
After some jokes about Jack the Ripper and the difference between serial murderers and rapists, Russell says, “There's a difference. There is no direct corollary between rapes and capes, it’s just a rhyme. Leave him alone."
In a new interview with Grazia, Lily reflected on what it felt like to be subject to such frankly disgusting banter — and, not a surprise, she wasn't a fan of the experience.
She framed it as a moment "where I was on a chat show with Russell Brand and Noel Fielding and Jonathan Ross. And there are comments, I think, about me being raped or something."
"And I laugh along with it. In retrospect, that’s really horrendous."
Lily added that her feelings about the incident are unquestionably different now than they were then, and that's both owed to time passed and the pervasiveness of misogyny in 2000s popular culture.
“It makes me uncomfortable, but I don’t think I felt that at the time, because it was the culture."
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673), which routes the caller to their nearest sexual assault service provider. You can also search for your local center here.
