One of the actresses who has accused Craig McLachlan of sexually inappropriate behaviour says she has been viciously trolled since coming forward with her story – including one person saying they ‘hope she gets raped’.
Christie Whelan took to Twitter on Wednesday afternoon to share some of the most common attacks she has received.
‘The people who have tweeted me to say they hope I get raped, hope I never work again and that they wish to spit in my face are incredibly hard to ignore,’ she wrote on her Twitter page.
Christie Whelan, the actress who has accused Craig McLachlan of sexually inappropriate behaviour, says she has been viciously trolled since coming forward with her story
Christie Whelan took to Twitter on Wednesday afternoon to share some of the most common attacks she has received
But the actress, who played Janet alongside McLachlan’s Frank N Furter during the 2014 production of Rocky Horror Picture Show, says she has also received a lot of love.
While her trolls were ‘hard to ignore’, Ms Whelan said the amount of love she has received ‘is drowning them out’.
‘So thank you. Rising above is hard, but I’m trying.’
Ms Whelan told ABC’s 7.30 the former soap actor ran his finger along her underwear during one scene of the sexually-charged musical where he was directed to kiss her body underneath a bed sheet.
She said 52-year-old McLachlan had traced the outline of her vagina as she froze in front of a packed out crowd.
‘One night when he was down in the bed… he traced the outline of my vagina with his finger and I slapped his hand away,’ she said.
Ms Whelan said the former soap actor ran his finger along her underwear during one scene of the sexually-charged musical where he was directed to kiss her body underneath a bed sheet
Ms Whelan is one of three women who have come forward about McLachlan’s behaviour in the 2014 production of the popular musical
Ms Whelan is one of three women who have come forward about McLachlan’s behaviour in the 2014 production of the popular musical.
She is joined by Angela Scundi, who claims he threatened her backstage after refusing to cooperate with an overly salacious kiss.
Erika Heynatz, who also acted in the show, is also accusing McLachlan of sexual harrassment and bullying.
McLachlan has fiercely denied the allegations, describing the claims of the three actresses as ‘baseless’.
But the 52-year-old has stepped down from his role as Frank N Furter in the current production of the musical, as the production company behind it, the Gordon Frost Organisation, completes a ‘full internal investigation’.
Formal complaints have been lodged with Victoria Police, who are investigating the claims.