After backing up Nicole Eggert's claims that Scott Baio molested her when they worked on the 1980s sitcom Charles in Charge, former costar Alexander Polinsky is now detailing the abuse he himself suffered at the hands of Baio, reports Variety.
Speaking at a Los Angeles press conference Wednesday, with Eggert and attorney Lisa Bloom in tow, a somber Polinsky described tortuous bullying at the hands of Baio; Polinsky was 11 when he began working on the show, while Baio was in his late 20s.
The bullying began after Polinsky witnessed Eggert sitting on Baio's lap. Being a child, Polinsky thought the position was harmless. Polinsky then jumped on Baio's lap himself, but the former Happy Days star threw him off and angrily called him a "faggot."
Most of the abuse that followed was homophobic in nature, Polinsky said. Baio repeatedly talked about "gay sex acts that he told me I would grow up to perform." Polinsky was "branded with the most homophobic words about homosexuals that exist ... Scott Baio told me I was never going to be loved by a woman in my life because I was so effeminate."
Polinsky said Baio also threw hot tea in his face and exposed his genitals to him.
Eggert, along with confirming Polinsky's account, filed a police report regarding Baio's alleged molestation of her, which she says began when she was 14. Polinsky may file claims as well. Bloom announced that more than a dozen cast and crew members from Charles in Charge corroborated Eggert and Polinsky's accusations.
Baio, an ardent Trump supporter who advocated "relentlessly attacking Hillary Clinton," denies the claims.