Australian actor Craig McLachlan has been accused of indecent assault, sexual harassment, bullying and intimidation while performing in the hit musical Rocky Horror Show in 2014.
Craig McLachlan performing in the 'Chicago' musical in Sydney in 2009 Photo: AFP
An ABC/Fairfax investigation has revealed three women from the production claim he took advantage of his raunchy role as Dr Frank-N-Furter to indecently assault, intimidate and harass them, both on and off stage.
McLachlan has strenuously denied all the allegations and questioned complainants' motives
Australian actor Craig McLachlan Photo: Supplied
Two of the women said they complained to senior production staff at the time but said nothing was done.
Their claims include that McLachlan pulled a cast member's underpants aside and kissed her buttocks during a performance, that he exposed himself to another actress and kissed a third woman without her permission.
He is also accused of reaching up an actress's skirt while she was on stage and he was backstage. The women allege he also bullied and intimidated some cast members.
The women have hired a lawyer to request an investigation into their claims, and two of the women have made separate reports about McLachlan's alleged behaviour to the Victorian Police.
In an email to the ABC Mclachlan said: "Frankly, they seem to be simple inventions, perhaps made for financial reasons, perhaps to gain notoriety. In either event, they are to the best of my knowledge utterly and entirely false."
He said he has talked to some of the production staff at the time who cannot recall any of the alleged incidents the women have described.
The 2018 production of Rocky Horror Show opened in Adelaide on New Year's Eve with McLachlan in the starring role.
The show is produced by industry heavyweight, the Gordon Frost Organisation (GFO), which has produced many hit musicals including The Sound of Music, Annie, Wicked, Grease and, currently, The Book of Mormon and The Wizard of Oz.
Erika Heynatz, Christie Whelan Browne and Angela Scundi, who played opposite McLachlan in the 2014 production of Rocky Horror Show, asked that the GFO agree to take part in an independent investigation by two senior barristers.
The women told the ABC they have never sought money and they want reassurances the current cast of the show is not at any risk.
But lawyers for the GFO have been resistant to their requests and have threatened to sue the women for defamation.
The ABC has seen documentation including emails, texts and a doctor's referral which support the women's claims.
Their reports have been backed by other members of the cast and band and by people they confided in at the time.
- ABC
