Nicole Eggert on Tuesday filed a police report against her former Charles in Charge co-star, Scott Baio, authorities and her attorney Lisa Bloom confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.
No additional information, including the specific allegation, was released by police, but it was confirmed that detectives had the report.
“Yesterday Nicole Eggert and I met with two police detectives from the sexual assault unit at my law firm,” Hollywood attorney Bloom told THR in a statement Wednesday. “Nicole answered all of their questions for over an hour and told her story of sexual abuse by Scott Baio when she was a minor. A witness, [Charles in Charge star] Alexander Polinsky, appeared as well and told the detectives about inappropriate touching he witnessed, as well as his own allegations of bullying by Scott Baio.”
Bloom continued, “We appreciate the Los Angeles police detectives’ interest in this case, and we will fully cooperate with their investigation. Many have reached out to Nicole and me to say that they witnessed inappropriate behavior from Scott Baio when Nicole was underage. We provided a list of those names to the police. If anyone else has information about this matter please contact us.”
David Weintraub, Eggert’s longtime manager of 15 years, added that Eggert walked away feeling positive after the conversation she had with the detectives.
“Nicole didn’t know what the statute of limitations was, but apparently the police are doing active investigations into a lot of these high-profile, older cases,” the CEO of DWE Talent Management told THR. “It’s been a very emotional and hard time for Nicole because her credibility and her truth has been questioned. She’s never had to defend what she’s saying so much. Meeting with the police was a groundbreaking moment because Alexander Polinsky also gave his statement. This is her truth.”
He added, “The most important thing is that people are standing by her.”
Eggert first came forward with allegations about Baio on social media, claiming Baio “molested” her when she was a minor and when the pair were co-starring together on the family sitcom. Baio swiftly denied her claims, posting a 16-minute Facebook Live video where he claimed that they first had sex when she was at least 18.
The following week, Eggert appeared on both Megyn Kelly Today and The Dr. Oz Show, where she further detailed her claims. The actress told NBC News’ Megyn Kelly that Baio sexually abused her “probably once a week” when she was between the ages of 14 and 16, and that she lost her virginity to him at 17, which is one year shy of California’s age of consent. Baio, who is 11 years older, maintained that Eggert was 18 when they had sex, and denied the rest of her claims when he appeared on Good Morning America.
In a statement given to Dr. Oz, Baio’s representative said: “Nicole Eggert was well past the age of 18 when she came to Scott Baio looking for a sexual experience. Given this, her other vague claims, which Scott has consistently denied, cannot have any merit.”
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During his video and when speaking on GMA, Baio had encouraged Eggert to speak with the police about her claims. On Megyn Kelly, Eggert said she was considering doing so and Bloom said several legal options were on the table. Her appearance on Dr. Oz had also been stalled while the producers vetted the allegations; her interview was initially filmed Jan. 10, but didn’t air until after both Eggert and Baio went public with their claims.
“They did the right thing and we appreciate Dr. Oz and his team doing the right thing,” Weintraub added. “But at the same time, it’s sad that we had to go through that to get the story out.”
Weintraub said the next step is for Eggert to fully cooperate with the investigation.
“It’s very empowering that everyone is going to see a change in Hollywood,” he said of the current climate. “Old ways of sweeping things under the rug aren’t going to work anymore.”
Baio’s spokesperson released a statement on Eggert’s police report filing Wednesday, telling Megyn Kelly Today: “We’ve been demanding since last year that Nicole Eggert bring her story to the authorities. It’s good that she finally has, even if it’s part of a publicity campaign. Perhaps she can explain to them her ever-changing story.” Baio declined to comment further when reached by THR.
Eggert on Tuesday evening had tweeted, “Calling it a nite. Emotionally drained but an extremely productive day.” She added that she would appear on Wednesday’s The Talk to share further updates.
When she appeared on the CBS talk show later on Wednesday (video below), Eggert told the co-hosts that at least 10 witnesses have made statements, including Polinsky and others “who were around all the time” on set.
Polinsky, who played her on-screen brother, released a statement to The Talk, saying in part, “I witnessed Scott Baio acting inappropriately towards Nicole Eggert during my first year of working on the show. I walked in on them together behind the set. Nicole was on Scott’s lap and he did not appreciate my intrusion. He yelled at me and called me various homophobic slurs. Growing up on the show I received regular verbal attacks, mental abuse and I also suffered a physical assault at the hands of Scott Baio.”
He added that both he and Eggert were minors and “deserved safe passage to do our jobs and also be kids.” His statement continued, “The cycle of abuse must stop. Even 30 years after the acts, they still matter.”
Speaking on the show, Eggert said, “The police report really is going to speak for itself. There is so much more in it than I can tell you right now.” Adding of Baio, “I don’t need [an apology] for me at this point; I forgive myself and I forgive him to move on and have peace. But the calling me a liar and the slut-shaming that they are doing to me needs to stop.”
Adding that she was initially scared to file the report, she hopes to empower other women who are considering taking the same action. “It’s really not that scary,” she said. “Not everybody has access to legal. They don’t necessarily have the funds or the ability to speak with somebody and I was lucky to have that.” She then added of Baio’s urging that she bring her claims to the police: “He asked me to do it and he sent me cease-and-desist letters from his legal team demanding that I do it, so I did it.”
Feb. 7, 10 a.m. Updated with Baio statement.
1:30 p.m. Updated with Eggert appearance on The Talk.
