I’m being bullied over pool death, claims Barrymore
fALLeN TV star Michael Barrymore yesterday broke his silence about the death of a guest at his home 19 years ago – to complain he was being ‘bashed and bullied’ by the media.
It came hours before a documentary examining the events at the essex property aired on Channel 4 last night.
Stuart Lubbock, 31, was found dead in the pool at the entertainer’s home in 2001. A postmortem examination showed he had suffered major internal injuries consistent with rape.
Barrymore, 67, posted a video on Twitter yesterday in which he protested his innocence. He said: ‘I have had nothing to do with this whatsoever and yet I keep getting bashed and bullied by the media.
‘My heartfelt sympathies are with the Lubbock family.’
He said Channel 4 bosses were ‘refusing’ to show him the documentary – called Barrymore: The
Body in the Pool – or tell him what was in the programme.
Mr Lubbock’s father Terry, 75, last night accused Barrymore of ‘crocodile tears’.
Detective Chief Inspector Stephen Jennings, leading the fresh probe into the case, this week said everyone present at the mansion on the night of the tragedy remained a suspect.
Barrymore and two other people were arrested on suspicion of rape and serious assault in 2007. No charges were brought due to lack of evidence. He later won an unlawful arrest case on a technicality and was awarded nominal damages.
The cause of Mr Lubbock’s death was never established. An open verdict was recorded by a coroner following conflicting reports from pathologists.