Speaking on radio station 2GB Craig McLachlan’s partner Vanessa Scammell has come out and thanked his supporters amidst allegations against McLachlan including indecent assault, sexual harassment, bullying and intimidation that allegedly occurred during his stint in the musical Rocky Horror Show back in 2014.
In the interview, Scammell admits that the last few months have been tough for the couple.
After grappling with the initial shock and the after effects for family, friends and supporters – Craig’s partner reveals they find their inner strength from a “huge support network.”
“We are determined and will do everything we can to move through this and clear his name and for everyone to realise that the person that is ‘Craig McLachlan’ is not the person who has been painted.
“He’s kind and gentle and funny, yes – he’s mischevious… and one of his greatest assets is that he loves to make people happy comfortable. To be honest, he has one of the greatest sense of what is right and just in the world that I know,” Scammell tells the radio host.
Craig McLachlan plans to launch legal action against both Fairfax and the ABC following the “annihilation of his career” after claims of sexual misconduct and bullying were published earlier this year.
The 52-year-old actor told the Sunday Telegraph, “By God I will fight this- and the truth, the truth will come out.”
“Does being cheeky and naughty equate with being a bully? No, it does not,” he told the publication.
While the former Neighbours star could not comment on the precise allegations being made against him in the interview due to legal advice, he does admit to having a suggestive or “lewd” sense of humour.
“Dave Allen, Benny Hill lewd? Yeah, you bet. In the right company.”
“The lewdness I am surrounded by on a show like Rocky Horror is, as they say on Spinal Tap, 11. I might be operating on 10, but all around me … in the lewd department, I am nothing compared with what’s surrounding me. As the old boy, I don’t come close in the filth department.”
Craig has stepped down from his role in The Rocky Horror Picture Show after former Home and Away star Erika Heynatz, Christie Whelan Browne and Angela Scundi came forward saying the actor had “abused, harassed or assaulted” them during the 2014 stage show.
Two more former crew members, a man and a woman, have also gone to the Victoria Police with complaints of his behaviour.
The actor vehemently denied the claims, telling The Herald, “I have NEVER done anything like this.”
“Frankly, they seem to be simple inventions, perhaps made for financial reasons, perhaps to gain notoriety,” he told the ABC.
“In either event, they are to the best of my knowledge utterly and entirely false.”
You can read more about the women’s statements here.
