Corey Feldman, who has been vocal about his own experience with sexual abuse as a child actor in Hollywood, departed his seat on SAG-AFTRA’s sexual harassment committee late last month following sexual misconduct allegations.
News of the allegations broke earlier this week, when The Hollywood Reporter reported that the SAG-AFTRA board received “numerous separate, detailed complaints from women who had been subject to or witness to sexual harassment, abuse and assault” from Feldman. The actor reportedly stepped down from the union’s sexual harassment committee on June 26, after union president Gabrielle Carteris requested his removal amid the allegations.
Feldman has since taken to Twitter to speak out against Carteris, denying the allegations and claiming the union president only had him ousted in order to weaken protections for child actors, a cause Feldman has vocally supported.
IN A STRANGE TWIST I MUST ANNOUNCE AS A LIFELONG MEMBER OF @sagaftra & A FORMER MEMBER OF THE #SEXUALHARRASSMENTCOMITTEE I HAV LOST ALL FAITH IN R PRESIDENT @TheGabrielle_C AS I BELIEVE SHES TRYING 2 GASLIGHT ME, 2 IGNORE CHILDRENS RIGHTS N NEW CONTRACTS: https://t.co/t1Yu7knXXy
— Corey Feldman (@Corey_Feldman) July 21, 2020
IM ABOUT 2 B ATTACKED AGAIN IN A MASSIVE WAY! I HAV JUST LEARNED THEY R PUTTING OUT A STORY OF LIES IN THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER! I AM FURIOUS! I AM HEARTBROKEN! AND I WILL SAY 1 TIME, I WOULD NEVER HARM ANOTHER INNOCENT HUMAN, 4 MY OWN PLEASURE, IF MY LIFE DEPENDED ON IT! #Kids2
— Corey Feldman (@Corey_Feldman) July 20, 2020
Feldman told THR the “same claims” had surfaced years earlier, and he was ultimately “cleared by both the Los Angeles Police Department and the District Attorney,” following an investigation.
“Beyond that, I don’t care to dignify the alleged claims of women who have been stalking me and harassing me endlessly for some time, for which I have contacted police,” he told the outlet. “I’m greatly disappointed and have lost complete faith in SAG leadership, that Gabrielle Carteris would abandon precious measures I was trying to implement for the future safety and protection of our children.”
Prior to Feldman’s June departure from the board, the actor’s seat had reportedly been protected by SAG-AFTRA’s Los Angeles Local president Patricia Richardson. According to the report, Richardson declined to remove Feldman despite having received “detailed complaints” against the actor.
The union has since condemned Richardson’s failure to remove Feldman from the board, saying that the actor’s position was “detrimental to the best interests of SAG-AFTRA’s members.”
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