Katherine Ryan has revealed she was taught to fear men from a young age after her friend was murdered by her ex-boyfriend.
The comedian, 41, was just 19 when she worked as a waitress in her hometown of Sarnia in Ontario, Canada alongside her friend Jessica Nethery.
Katherine told how she was left traumatised when Jessica didn’t show up for work one day and she later learned her boyfriend – who she’d recently broken up with – killed her.
Speaking to The Mirror, she said: ‘I found out she died when she never showed up for work that day. It was traumatic for everyone in the town – because it’s a small place, everyone knows everyone.
‘It really affected me, and it informed, I think, a lot of my behaviours. I proceeded very vigilantly (afterwards).’
Katherine Ryan has revealed she was taught to fear men from a young age after her friend was murdered by her ex-boyfriend
Katherine told how she was left traumatised when her friend Jessica Nethery was killed by her ex-boyfriend
She added: ‘I told my mother, and I remember my mom was very calm and she said to me: ‘Sometimes, if you leave them, they’ll kill you’. And I went, ‘What?’
Katherine said because this happened when she was so young and her ‘brain was still growing’, it had a huge impact on her.
Jessica Nethery was 21 when she was killed by her former partner Jeremy Molitor, then 24. He attacked her in a car park and stabbed her 58 times.
He was given a life sentence for the attack but was released on parole in 2019.
It comes after Katherine shared the cutting message she sent to former male colleagues who got in touch after she revealed there was a ‘dangerous male comic’ on the circuit.
The comedian claimed last year that there is a ‘dangerous comic’ working in British showbusiness.
During her speech at the Glamour Awards, Katherine revealed that a host of men she had worked with previously got in touch after her admission – all seeking ‘proof messages’ that she wasn’t talking about them.
‘So I had to copy and paste like a hundred times “Do you really think you should be texting me after everything that happened between us”,’ Katherine said as she revealed how she replied, sparking huge laughs from the female crowd.
Katherine said last year that she ‘wrestled’ with the decision about whether to work with ‘someone who I believe to be a perpetrator of sexual assault’ or turn down jobs.
Referencing said male comic in her speech, Katherine began: ‘After some soul-searching I though “Why should I stay home? He’s be there in his unnecessarily tight jeans, he’ll be there wearing beanie indoors or w***ing off a Tibetan monk for views, or whatever he gets up to.”
The comedian claimed last year that there is a ‘dangerous comic’ working in British showbusiness
Katherine attended the Glamour Women Of The Year Awards with her husband Bobby Kootstra
‘And so I accepted the gig but every time I had to speak to him I would say stuff like “I’m not getting paid enough to be here, especially for how many times my face will be on the news when your victims come forward” and fun banter like that.
‘It happened so long ago we were still using the word victim by the way, we say survivor now which would have been a very different Destiny’s Child song, less empowering.’
Katherine went on to say that everyone in the industry already knew this man was a predator, but that the survivors didn’t feel comfortable speaking out.
‘I wasn’t trying to get him cancelled because everyone knew,’ she said. ‘”Why didn’t you tell a journalist Katherine”, everybody knew. “Why didn’t you tell the police”, everybody already knew. Everybody knew but they couldn’t prove it.
‘What the journalist wanted from me was never his name it was the women’s names. The women who had told me their stories and I believe in a woman’s right to physical autonomy just as I believe in the right to autonomy of her voice and if they didn’t want to come forward that’s up to them. So I couldn’t say anything.’
Going on to speak about the other men, she continued: ‘But because I wouldn’t name my colleague a funny thing started happening, I started to receive texts from men that I’d worked with over the years, like actors, comedians, musicians, just like “Hey Katherine how’s it going”.
‘I didn’t know what they wanted so I showed these texts to my husband and he said: “Oh they just want a poof text, they want you to send them back something nice so they can show their agent and they can show their wife that you definitely weren’t talking about them.”
‘So I had to copy and paste like a hundred times “Do you really think you should be texting me after everything that happened between us”.’
The Canadian-born comic told host Lauren Laverne in an episode of Desert Island Discs last year that although she believed the man ‘is or was dangerous’, she was willing to appear on a show with him. The episode came out as Russell Brand was at the centre of allegations of rape and sexual assault, which he denied, but was recorded prior.
Katherine revealed that her ‘compromise’ was to go on the programme with the unnamed comic but ‘let him know under no uncertain terms what I think of him.’
She added that she didn’t notice ‘much of a reaction’ from the comedian in question, but that other comics who were aware of the person’s reputation ‘really liked what I said’.
Katherine has been outspoken on the issue and is alleged to have challenged Russell while they were co-hosting TV comedy show Roast Battle in 2018, making comments about him on camera which were later cut from the broadcast.
Katherine said last year that she ‘wrestled’ with the decision about whether to work with ‘someone who I believe to be a perpetrator of sexual assault’ or turn down jobs
Katherine is previously reported to have confronted Russell Brand while they were co-hosting TV comedy show Roast Battle in 2018. Pictured: Katherine (centre) with Brand (left) and Jimmy Carr (right) on the show
Roast Battle consisted of comedians cracking jokes at each other’s expense. The first season included Russell, Katherine, and Jimmy Carr. Jonathan Ross replaced Russell for the second season.
During filming of the show – created by Fulwell 73 – Katherine reportedly fired allegations at Russell. Her comments did not make the aired show, according to Deadline.
Katherine’s confrontations allegedly revealed how comedians in the industry were openly talking about Russell’s sexual and predatory behaviour.
Russell was allegedly ‘absolutely furious’ after being targeted by Katherine on the show, a source told the paper.
Two other sources claimed he demanded that producers protect him from being roasted about these serious allegations.
Industry insiders have now revealed that they felt it was best Russell step down as a judge on the programme, and that ‘in the end, it came down to the fact that it seemed like Russell didn’t have a good sense of humour’.
