Gregg Wallace 'will take BBC to the cleaners for autism discrimination' as bosses in crisis talks over latest MasterChef series amid host's sex misconduct scandal
Supporters of the disgraced Masterchef star have said his neurodiversity is partly responsible for his inappropriate behaviour and revealed he feels unsupported by his former employer.
It has even been claimed he cannot wear underpants because of his autism.
He reportedly plans to sue the BBC and production company Banijay for alleged discrimination and has accused them of failing to provide enough support for his condition.
The greengrocer turned presenter insists that his at-times off-colour jokes and 'banter' were a sign that his autism meant he 'didn't know what was right' to say in social situations.
Wallace was fired from BBC MasterChef following a nine-month sexual misconduct investigation. BBC News reported that 50 more people had made fresh claims against him – including allegations he groped one MasterChef worker and on one occasion put a sock over his penis and opened his dressing room door shouting 'hooray'.
But there has been some anger online from critics, including several people with autism, who have called him 'diabolically shameless' for claiming his neurodiversity is a contributing factor for his unacceptable behaviour.
'Gregg is guilty of bad jokes and rough humour. But so many people on the show talked openly about suspecting that he had autism for years before he got his diagnosis,' a friend of the star has said.
The source told The Times: 'To sack him now when they were well aware of his condition is outrageous. He's going to take them to the cleaners'.
The 60-year-old's condition has allegedly caused an 'inability to wear underwear because of his autistic hypersensitivity to labels and tight clothing'.
The boss of a charity supporting victims of sexual abuse reacted with anger that his autism is partly responsible for his inappropriate behaviour.
Duncan Craig OBE said: 'It's clear that Gregg Wallace is not ready to take accountability for his actions, instead blame his behaviour on autism
'As the CEO of a sexual harms charity, , and a survivor myself, I know survivors will be incensed by this gaslighting. I stand with you all'.
Journalist and author Julie Bindel tweeted: 'I see Gregg Wallace is the latest misogynist to claim that 'neurodiversity' is the factor re his grotesque attitudes & behaviour. I can only imagine what those that actually do suffer from autism, etc must feel, or the parents raising autistic kids with zero support or empathy'.
One teacher specialising in teaching children with autism said: 'In 17 years of teaching children with every sensory processing order you can imagine, I never met a child who couldn't wear underwear and if they did struggle they certainly were not wearing tight jeans. Stop using autism , as an excuse, Gregg Wallace'.
But his friends insist that his autism is said to result in him having an 'oddity of filters and boundaries'.
A source close to Wallace said the complaints against him were primarily related to language and most were before 2018, when he realised he had been behaving inappropriately.
'He stopped going out with the team and stopped telling jokes because he realised he didn't know what was right and what crossed the line,' a friend said.
'So many people on the show talked openly about suspecting that he had autism for years before he got his diagnosis,' a source said.
It comes as an industry watchdog said Wallace's 'cheeky chappie' excuse for his sexual misconduct doesn't wash.
The public did not see the former MasterChef host's 'uglier side', said Baroness Kennedy, who heads the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority.
On Tuesday the BBC received 50 new claims over Wallace, including that he groped a worker on the show.
Wallace said the allegations are 'uncorroborated tittle-tattle'.
Due to the BBC's cost-cutting measures, it's been deemed unlikely that Gregg will receive any or redundancy package, but he could land a six-figure payout from a tribunal in his favour.
On Tuesday, Gregg released a statement ahead of the investigation into his misconduct allegations being published later this week.
Wallace denies the claims and has condemned the corporation in a scathing social media post saying he had been cleared of 'the most serious and sensational accusations'.
But fresh claims come from people who say they encountered him across a range of shows with the majority alleging he made inappropriate sexual comments towards them, according to BBC News.
Writing on Instagram, Gregg said he had taken the decision to go public before the Silkins report was published as 'he cannot sit in silence while my reputation is further damaged'
Out of the 50 allegations, 11 women have accused him of inappropriate sexual behaviour, such as groping and touching.
The report is to be officially published on Thursday, but Wallace's legal team have claimed to have seen the report.
A BBC spokesperson told MailOnline: 'Banijay UK instructed the law firm Lewis Silkin to run an investigation into allegations against Gregg Wallace.
'We are not going to comment until the investigation is complete and the findings are published.'
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