00:00Alexander Polinski is alleging child abuse and sexual harassment at the hands of
00:04Charles in Charge star Scott Baio. He's the second of Baio's co-stars on the hit 80s
00:09sitcom to make sexual misconduct claims. Polinski spoke about his allegations
00:13against Baio for the first time on Wednesday during a press conference with
00:16Hollywood attorney Lisa Bloom. The pair were joined by Nicole Eggert, Polinski's
00:20Charles in Charge co-star, who has accused Baio of sexually abusing her as a minor
00:25and who was now on hand to support Polinski's claims.
00:28I was sexually harassed by Scott Baio and ultimately assaulted by him between the
00:32ages of 12 and 15 years old.
00:34Polinski traced the alleged abuse from Baio back to the child actor's first year working on the show
00:39when, at age 11, he says he walked in on Baio acting sexual in nature with 14-year-old
00:44Eggert, who was sitting on the adult star's lap. Polinski said of the TV show's megastar,
00:49I was so naive I innocently hopped on his lap expecting to hear a story about Fonzie or
00:54Happy Days. He added,
00:58Polinski went on to detail a pattern of abuse that was unrelenting during his time on the show,
01:14which aired in syndication for four years. He now believes the harassment from Baio was
01:18mental torture in retaliation to what he had witnessed between Baio and Eggert.
01:22According to Polinski, Baio would describe gay sex acts to him that Baio said the young actor
01:27would grow up to perform and share his sexual conquest with young girls and the co-stars of the show.
01:32He alleges that homophobic slurs became a running gag on set. He said,
01:36At one time, when the pair were backstage and Polinski faked throwing a basketball to Baio,
01:51Polinski says this happened.
01:53He got startled, and in anger, he assaulted me by throwing a burning hot cup of tea in my face.
01:58Baio later apologized, but the alleged abuse continued, behavior that Polinski called sexual-themed hazing.
02:04When reading her statement, Eggert said she felt guilty for not standing up for Polinski at the time,
02:09but that she was enduring her own alleged abuse from Baio, and was also a child.
02:14Polinski said adults on set were aware of what was happening, but he believes they were silent for fear of losing their jobs.
02:20After voicing his support for former co-star Eggert when she and Baio first went public with their sides of the story last month,
02:26Polinski filed a report with the LAPD's sexual assault unit on February 6, both to corroborate Eggert's claims against Baio and detail his own.
02:34On Wednesday, Eggert and Bloom said that at least 10 on-set witnesses spoke to police about Eggert's claims,
02:40including Polinski and one person who witnessed Baio allegedly dragging Eggert around the set by her hair.
02:45While Eggert and Polinski are asking for a public apology from Baio,
02:49Bloom said any criminal consequences are now under the LAPD's jurisdiction.
02:53As for Baio, he has denied Eggert's claims. He previously said Eggert and Polinski had decided to team up against him.
02:59Baio was set to hold his own press conference with his lawyer in response later on Wednesday.
03:04His spokesperson told TMZ on Tuesday,
03:06Nicole Eggert, Alexander Polinski and their attorney have brought a media circus to town,
03:11complete with false allegations, misleading insinuations and pure sleaze-mongering.
03:15For the latest updates on this story, go to THR.com.
03:18Until next time, for The Hollywood Reporter News, I'm Tiffany Taylor.
