Australian ROCKY HORROR's Craig McLachlan Accused of Sexual Assault

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, Craig McLachlan has been accused of indecent assault, sexual harassment, indecent exposure, and bullying of female colleagues. McLachlan is currently in Adelaide starring as Frank-N-Furter in the 2018 tour of Rocky Horror. He has denied the allegations.

Cast members from the 2014 production of Rocky Horror Show filed a complaint with Victorian police, stating that the complaints made to The Production Company, the Gordon Frost Organization, were ignored.

One actress, Christie Whelan Browne, co-starred as Janet in the 2014 Rocky Horror tour. She said that during a sex scene with McLachlan he went off-script, making the scene more sexual, as well as making sexually explicit comments about her genitalia. Another actress, Angela Scundi, claims that McLachlan made inappropriate comments about her breasts, and hugged her in a sexual manner, as well as undressing in front of her when they were alone in his dressing room. Erica Heynatz, another actress, claims that McLachlan made unwanted physical advances toward her in the green room of Melbourne's Comedy Theatre.

Several actresses also noticed McLachlan making the kissing scenes in the show longer and more intimate. When Scundi told McLachlan never to kiss her like that again, he verbally abused her and threatened her.

When the actresses began to tell others, namely the head mechanic on the production, McLachlan allegedly got angry, becoming physically aggressive toward them on and off stage.

Eventually, the managing director of GFO, John Frost, was alerted of the way the actresses were being treated, and then the stage manager, who made it seem to one actress that it was not worth her while to pursue these accusations further.

When the Harvey Weinstein story broke, the women decided to share their story, going to the union, lawyers, and police. GFO did not comment but it maintained in its legal letters that it always provided a space "free of bullying or unlawful harassment."

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Photo Credit: Jeff Busby