Canadian-born comic Katherine Ryan has posted a video snippet in which she admits to doing a “special” favor for her boss so that she could leave work early.
In the footage of the sit down between herself and journalist Louis Theroux, she declared her past actions unashamedly, saying it was she who broached the idea, before defending it with: “But I liked him.”
Highlights
- In a resurfaced 2022 interview, Ryan said she once slept with her boss to get off work early.
- She defended the move as a choice she made when she was “young” and “liked him.”
- Maisie Adam quipped she’d “dropkick” Ryan if she tried the same with her partner.
However, stripping away any illusion of intimacy, many of her colleagues (allegedly) performed the same transaction when they wanted to get out of work early.
She was one of a few women exchanging favors for privileges at the time
Image credits: Getty / Mike Marsland
In the reposted 2022 video, Theroux weaves around the question, saying: “You said you were sleeping with your boss right?”
He said, “You actually said to him…” before being interrupted by Ryan, who voiced the proposal she put forward in exchange for leaving early, verbatim.
Theroux, barely able to hide his disbelief, asked, “You really said that?”
“Yeah,” Ryan confirmed, and then defended the action with, “But I liked him. That’s key. He wasn’t just some guy.”
Image credits: BBC
According to Ryan–in the most uncensored language possible–her manager agreed to the lurid proposal, and she got to leave work early.
Many are marveling over Ryan’s lack of embarrassment
The footage drew criticism from netizens, with a person in the comment section writing: “Wow and she is proud of it…what a big accomplishment she did…& there goes the Me Too movement !!”
Image credits: Instagram / kathbum
The ensuing discourse swirled around this sentiment. “Se***l harassment in the workplace is so hot, right!” wrote another, sarcastically.
Apparently, not everyone found the admission abhorrent, and one person wrote: “Love that she’s so unapologetic.”
She has since weighed in on fan reactions, defending herself as “young” at the time
Image credits: Instagram / kathbum
Ryan has been paying attention to the commentary and weighed in with an update on August 12.
“Based on the reaction to this clip over the last two years, I think people mostly seem confused that I’m neither proud, nor am I shameful of the choices I made in my ‘youth’, as a young adult, when my frontal lobe was still developing,” she wrote.
“Culture moves so fast,” she claimed. “And those of us from what I call ‘the girl band generation’ navigated being objectified and participating in objectifying ourselves.
“It’s a bit different now.”
Ryan is known for being candid about her forays in the sack
During her numerous appearances on the anarchic British TV game show 8 out of 10 Cats, she would regularly hint at a time of her life when she worked at Hooters, which she refers to as college.
Again, she traded indecent favors to get out of work early. In one episode with stand-up comedian Maisie Adam present, she learned that not everyone appreciated her x-rated raconteuring.
A colleague has since made it clear that not everyone appreciates her lurid anecdote
Image credits: Instagram / kathbum
Image credits: Instagram / kathbum
Ryan was telling her favorite story when host Jimmy Carr suggested that Adam’s partner, who at that point was working at a cocktail bar, was likely the manager Ryan was talking about.
Regarding Adam’s relationship with her partner, Carr asked, “What if he comes home early?”
Adam then made it clear that the Canadian-born mother of three would suffer a violent and brutal beatdown if she went anywhere near her man.
The comic claims to have called out a known predator on TV, and although she is not saying who, fans think its Russell Brand
Image credits: Instagram / kathbum
Image credits: Instagram / kathbum
In the interview with Theroux, Ryan pushed back against the suggestion that her manager was abusing his power, and then used the opportunity to hint at a fellow comedian of whom she claimed it was common knowledge that he was a “se***l predator.”
While refraining from naming the character during the interview due to his “very good lawyers,” she claimed to have called him out on air in front of audiences.
Image credits: Instagram / kathbum
According to responses on the Subreddit r/panelshow viewers are convinced that the person she was talking about was Russell Brand.
“It appears to be Russell Brand. Good for her for calling him out,” wrote one of the Redditors in agreement.
Katherine Ryan's admission has generated mixed reviews
