Victims of disgraced musician Rolf Harris have spoken out following the Tuesday announcement of his passing.
It was verified this week that Harris perished at age 93 after a battle with neck cancer.
In May of 2017, Harris was released from prison after serving three years of his five-year-and-nine-month sentence for 12 counts of sexual assault, one of which was subsequently overturned.
Dr. Lin Berwick, who accused Harris of assaulting her when she was 27 years old, exclaimed, “Yippee, thank God,” while victims Karen Gardner of the BBC and Vanessa Feltz also spoke out.
Dr. Berwick, who is blind and has cerebral palsy, was acquitted of assaulting Harris, but the disability advocate and author has always stood by her claim.
Speaking to the Sun via Mailonline, when Dr Berwick said of Harris’ death: ‘When I found out the news he was dead, I screamed “Yippee, thank God”.’
Gardner directed her 1,650 Twitter followers to a previous statement she had issued about Harris.
Gardner claims Harris assaulted her when she was 16 years old, and on May 21, she tweeted about the release of a new documentary about the disgraced performer’s offences.
She wrote earlier this month: ‘Very few of us escape the impact of evil people. What we have to do is expose them, share & stand together to dilute the pain. For me it was #rolfharris but he inflicted much worse on other girls.’
Directing fans back to that tweet on Tuesday, Gardner penned: ‘Nothing to add to this & #rolfharrisHidinginplainsight. Please don’t ask.’
Feltz, meanwhile, spoke candidly about a harrowing incident involving Harris only hours after his death was confirmed.
Feltz, 61, recalled an occasion in 1996 when she interviewed Harris on The Big Breakfast Show and observed his hand travelling up her dress.
Detailing the awful experience on her TalkTV Drivetime show this week, Feltz shared: ‘I didn’t know what to do because I knew that I couldn’t say, “Get your hand off my leg” or “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” or “Get off me” and I also couldn’t jump off the bed because I was all mic-ed up and it’s a live programme.
‘I didn’t know what to do at all.’
She went on: ‘I tried to put the cushion between, that was no good. I couldn’t move any further away because you can see I would’ve fallen off the edge of the bed… his hand meanwhile was getting closer and closer and closer and closer and closer.’
Feltz added: ‘And then it got to the edge of my pants, my knickers, or whatever. My lingerie, and I knew, that if I didn’t do something immediately, it was going to be a proper full-on assault.’
Nothing to add to this & #rolfharrisHidinginplainsight. Please don't ask. https://t.co/UNKH7xqvRZ
— Karen Gardner (@KarenJGardner) May 23, 2023
Revealing how she managed to get herself out of the situation, Feltz noted: ‘I did what you’re never allowed to do as a presenter.’
She then explained that she ‘called for a break herself’ instead of ‘waiting for the director to call one’.
Feltz stated that she did not speak to Harris during the break, and that after the break they continued as if nothing had occurred.
This is not the first time Feltz has spoken out against Harris’ despicable behaviour.
In 2014, she first discussed the incident with the Sunday Express.
