More allegations surface
Former castmate says he was harassed and assaulted by Scott Baio
Troubled star Scott Baio has been hit with more abuse allegations from another Charles In Charge castmate.
Alexander Polinsky, who previously supported Nicole Eggert’s claims she was sexually assaulted as a minor by the actor, has now come forward with his own allegations against Baio.
Joined by Eggert for a press conference in Woodland Hills, Calif., on Wednesday, the actor claimed he was sexually harassed by Scott and “ultimately assaulted by him” between the ages of 12 and 15.
“During the first year of the show, I was 11 or 12, I observed Scott with our co-star Nicole on his lap backstage,” Polinsky told the media. “I was so naive I innocently hopped on his lap expecting to hear a story about Fonzi or Happy Days, or something awesome; Scott Baio was a hero to me.
“Scott immediately threw me off him and began angrily calling me ‘f-----’ while Nicole laughed. I felt confusion, shame, and then fear when I realized I had judged the situation wrong.”
He claims Baio then began “a pattern of abuse that was unrelenting,” repeatedly telling him about gay sex acts and boasting about his sexual conquests with “young girls and the co-stars of the show.”
“At the same time (he) tried to convince me I was unlovable, defective, and branding me with the most vulgar words for homosexuals that exist,” the actor added.
“Scott pulled down my pants in front of over 100 people. And on another time he laughed as he cut a hole in the canvas wall of my private dressing room on set and exposed his genitals to me.”
Alexander also alleges Baio once assaulted him by throwing “a burning hot cup of tea in my face.”
“I believe I was being subjected to mental torture in retaliation for what I had seen,” the actor added. “The abuse continued through the run of the show. The adults around me on set were aware of these things but were too scared of losing a job on a hit show to act.”
Baio previously maintained he did nothing wrong with regards to allegations made by Eggert, insisting she was 18 when they had consensual sex.
Hours after Alexander went public with his accusations, Baio’s legal representative Jennifer McGrath and spokesperson Brian Glicklich staged their own press conference to address both claims of sexual misconduct.
Baio was not present for the event, as he was with his sick daughter, but he released a statement via McGrath, declaring, “For reasons I don’t understand I am the victim of false claims that threaten everything precious in my life … Mostly, I’m stunned … I will not let this continue … I will use every ounce of strength I have to fight this.”
Glicklich then blasted the claims from Eggert and Polinsky, branding them part of a “media witch hunt,” while defending his client’s decision not to issue a public apology. “You can’t apologize for something that’s not true,” he told reporters.