Craig McLachlan will face a fifth day of questioning in his defamation case over media reviews of sexual assault and harassment throughout The Rocky Horror Present in 2014 and different productions.
Because the actor’s grilling continues Monday, the NSW Supreme Court docket jury has already heard seemingly contradictory statements by McLachlan, 56, of whether or not he kissed or touched actresses through the 2014 present with out their permission.
Whereas the Gold Logie winner has denied sure allegations reported by the ABC and Fairfax in January 2018, he has admitted to “jokingly” kissing Christie Whelan Browne, 39, on the hips throughout a Rocky Horror mattress scene.
He has additionally admitted to giving what he claimed was a “greeting kiss” to a different actress Erika Heynatz, 47, in her dressing room and later sitting on her lap and kissing her neck within the theatre’s inexperienced room, saying she had accomplished comparable “vampire kisses” to forged and viewers members through the present.
On Friday, defence barrister Michael Hodge QC painted McLachlan as a strong and offended actor who threw tantrums, yelled and bodily assaulted forged members.
Mr Hodge mentioned the actor had threatened to place music supervisor Tony Castro in hospital after having one in every of his songs interrupted.
McLachlan can also be accused of yelling and kicking a garbage bin after being requested to put on a wig, and calling different forged members “a bunch of untalented and ungrateful c****” after actor Tim Maddren, 38, altered his efficiency throughout a mattress scene within the 2014 stage manufacturing.
McLachlan, who performed Dr Frank N Furter within the present, has denied allegations he grabbed Whelan Browne’s face and threw it apart through the efficiency. The actor has lobbed his personal accusations in opposition to Whelan Browne, saying she bullied Heynatz due to a dressing room feud between the 2 ladies.
Texts from McLachlan in June 2014 present the actor referring to Whelan Browne as “Lucifer” and “egocentric, delusional, disrespectful and albeit nasty”. Regardless of this, the actor maintained that his friendship with the actress had not soured through the course of that yr’s manufacturing.
One other actress, Angela Scundi, alleges that the lead actor compelled his tongue down her throat at one efficiency through the present’s last track quantity whereas she was enjoying Columbia.
McLachlan denies the track’s pacing and lyrics left time for something apart from a “fast peck”, recreating this together with his associate Vanessa Scammell a number of instances for a Channel Seven interview on Highlight aired in Could final yr.
Nevertheless, footage from a Perth present performed to the jury reveals the actor kiss Columbia for just a few seconds in the midst of the lyrics.
“Mr McLachlan, we will see it. It’s not momentary peck, is it?” Mr Hodge requested.
“It’s efficiency, Mr Hodge. It’s not a passionate kiss. It’s not passionate kiss,” McLachlan replied.
The actor is suing the ABC, Fairfax and Whelan Browne for defamation over publications in January 2018 regarding claims of misconduct through the 2014 manufacturing of The Rocky Horror Present and different productions.
He has accused Whelan Browne, Heynatz and Scundi of approaching the media for notoriety or cash.
