Brave Erika Heynatz – who started losing her voice through the stress of performing with accused sex predator Craig McLachlan – is proud that she has spoken out to expose him.
Shockingly, the former favourite of The Doctor Blake Mysteries, Neighbours and Home And Away, stands denounced by Erika, and two other actresses, of indecent assault, sexual harassment and bullying during the 2014 touring production of The Rocky Horror Show, in which he starred as alien transvestite Dr Frank N Furter.
‘It was incredibly nerve-wracking to go public, but Erika is nobody’s fool and she felt it was the only way to get the message across,’ a close friend told New Idea. ‘She is a very strong woman, but she has really been buoyed by the amazing support she has received.
‘Her husband Andrew Kingston has been beside her all the way on this. He really encouraged her to be bold and empowered by speaking up for other women.’
Craig, 52, strongly denies the allegations from the mother-of-one Erika, 42, and castmates Christie Whelan Browne and Angela Scundi, who say he pulled a cast member’s underpants aside and kissed her buttocks during a performance, that he exposed himself to another and passionately kissed a third woman without permission.
‘Frankly, they seem to be simple inventions, perhaps made for financial reasons, perhaps made for financial reasons, perhaps to gain notoriety,’ the four-time Logie award winner said in an email to the ABC. ‘In either event, they are to the best of my knowledge, utterly and entirely false.’
But since the women went public with their stories last week, two members of the Rocky Horror crew have also gone to police with their own complains of inappropriate behaviour by McLachlan.
And acclaimed musical theatre actress Kerrie Anna Greenland told the Daily Mail she had been warned about the former golden boy’s allegedly sleazy antics that were, she says, an ‘open secret’ in the entertainment industry.
‘It was common knowledge and I wasn’t surprised when it came out,’ she revealed. ‘I know people were feeling very uncomfortable on stage and off stage [with McLachlan] and a lot of women felt very uncomfortable during the show.’
McLachlan’s long-time partner, conductor and music director Vanessa Scammell, has not commented on the accusations. His exes – first wife Karen Williams, second wife Rachel Friend and former fiancee, choreographer Kelley Abbey – have also remained silent, as has Eastenders star Charlotte Avery, the mother of his teenage son in the UK.
But musical theatre favourite Lucy Durack was vocal in backing Erika, Christie and Angela’s actions.
‘I think they have been incredibly brave,’ she told Today. ‘I stand with any victims of any assault or harassment.’
For the full story see this weeks issue of New Idea – out now!