Australian actor Craig McLachlan has been dumped from the current run of The Rocky Horror Show after several women came forward with allegations that he’d sexually assaulted them during the 2014 run of the same show.
Production company the Gordon Frost Organisation has released a letter addressing the allegations against McLachlan, and saying that McLachlan and the GFO have “mutually agreed” that he will no longer be a part of this year’s production of Rocky Horror.
The Gordon Frost Organisation (GFO) was shocked to learn of allegations against Craig McLachlan while he was involved in the Rocky Horror Show in 2014. We take these allegations very seriously, and have always endeavoured to prioritise a safe working environment.
In response, we have spoken to Craig and have mutually agreed that it is not appropriate for him to continue in the current production of the show. We will be conducting a full internal investigation and will cooperate fully with authorities.
Three Australian actresses accused McLachlan of sexual misconduct via a joint Fairfax and ABC exposé. Christie Whelan Browne, Angela Scundi and Erika Heynatz said that McLachlan groped, kissed and exposed himself to them non-consensually, intimidated them, and made repeated inappropriate comments about their bodies.
They’ve sought legal representation, which the GFO confirms has resulted in correspondence – though the GFO also maintains that they had no idea about the allegations against McLachlan until the release of the report today, saying:
In order to clarify media reports, we wish to state that we were not aware of any details of these allegations until they were published in the media today. We received correspondence from a law firm shortly before Christmas however this contained no details of the claims or the claimants. The response from our lawyers was based on this lack of information and was not in any way directed at the women who have come forward and made these allegations.
The Fairfax/ABC report and accounts from cast members seem to contradict this, however:
So if you are willing to believe the statement from The Gordon Frost Organisation then this entire story of Christie’s personal complaint to John Frost is a complete fabrication… pic.twitter.com/iQLL05CVMi
— Peter Ford (@mrpford) January 8, 2018
In the statement, the producers condemn sexual assault in the industry, reiterate their commitment to providing a safe working environment for all their employees, casts and contractors, and promise that they’ll be conducting an internal review.
Full statement from producers of The Rocky Horror Show….. pic.twitter.com/9Ri2T9nxrB
— Peter Ford (@mrpford) January 8, 2018
