In her latest comments, she noted that the law regarding consent in indecent assault cases had changed in Victoria since 2014, the time at the center of the claims.
“If the current law were to apply, the outcome may be different,” she noted.
Craig McLachlan in Rocky Horror Show.Credit:Janie Barrett
While it wasn’t exactly a glowing record of McLachlan’s first appearance in court, it seemed that he had reached a level of justification after the acquittal.
At the time, many suspected McLachlan, who had the last word thanks to the… spotlight disappear for a while, drop his defamation charges, which also include indicting his former co-star Christie Whelan Browne, and work to restore his public image.
Given the experiences of many celebrities before him, he could have saved his showbiz career, a difficult but still achievable prospect given how quickly such scandals are forgotten…or forgiven.
Whelan Browne said she came out alone, along with other women, so that others wouldn’t have to undergo the same behavior as in the 2014 production.
“I was then singled out and charged with defamation,” she said.
“My name was dragged through the mud and my character and behavior were exaggerated and questioned. I thought this kind of shame was a thing of the past, but I was wrong.
“The past four and a half years have traumatized me and the other brave women who spoke out then and after.”
By continuing its ill-fated smear campaign, McLachlan knew it would re-drew all the details of the original claims.
But this time, his opponents ended up with extra ammunition, courtesy of McLachlan himself, who showed up in court raw footage of his spotlight interview has been used against him.
He even – unintentionally – warned his opponents about the existence of thousands of potentially harmful documents in the form of text messages, emails and photos that were eventually handed over.
In the Spotlight footage, McLachlan also boasted of his amazing memory and received praise from his lawyers, only to claim in court that he could not recall critical aspects of the charges leveled against him.
The Spotlight gig also returned to bite his musician wife Vanessa Scammell, who has her own successful career in showbiz and currently conducts the orchestra in the musical An American in Paris†
In her TV interview, Scammell claimed to be backstage almost every night during the Rocky Horror Show production, only to be challenged by lawyers who claimed she was told to leave half an hour before the show started due to insurance reasons.
Friends of Scammell say she has been hit hard by the case, with hair loss and weight loss. McLachlan released a statement citing his mental health and the pressure of the trial on his family as reasons for leaving the business.
And again we wonder why.
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