Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes Present
"Cancelled. His Career Is Over." But Actor Timothy Busfield Is Getting Out of Jail
21 Jan 2026
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human. Hey there, folks. It is Tuesday, January 20th, and a breaking story developing just as we are getting in front of these microphones. Actor Timothy Busfield gets to go home. His court hearing just wrapped up, and the judge is going to let him go home. The moment sent his wife, Melissa Gilbert, to tears.
With that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ. Again, Robes has only been, I mean, literally less than 10 minutes ago he wrapped this hearing. But it was something to see. Melissa Gilbert, this iconic TV actress sitting in a courtroom just a couple of rows behind her husband accused of heinous crimes. But yes, he is going to get to go home.
I actually was brought to tears watching Melissa Gilbert break down when she heard the judge say that Timothy Busfield was going to get to go home. He didn't even put travel restrictions on him and let him leave on his own recognizance. So didn't even set some high dollar amount for him to be able to leave. It was the best case scenario for Timothy Busfield and Melissa Gilbert.
The judge's decision was what they were hoping for, most likely what they were praying for. And so to see all of that emotion come out after a two-plus-hour hearing, which was honestly riveting the entire time, it was remarkable what we learned and what we heard in court today.
Yes, folks, to explain here, you know the case by now, Timothy Busfield being accused by a couple of boys who worked on a show that he directed of inappropriate contact with a minor or the charges they're going after. He did turn himself in in Albuquerque, New Mexico. That's where the movie, excuse me, the show was being shot. That's why they are there. He has been in jail, Rob, since last week.
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Chapter 2: Why is Timothy Busfield being released from jail?
It was kind of a surprise to a lot of people. The prosecution called this man an absolute danger, and there can't be a child anywhere in his proximity that could be safe.
The prosecutor was arguing today in court that there were no conditions that the court could set for his release that would guarantee the safety of the community. I mean, they went in hard, and they said there was no GPS could— say that he wasn't with or around children. And interestingly, they used the support that Timothy Busfield brought to court with him and used it against him.
We both just rolled our eyes kind of in a way. We'll explain and we'll get into what the defense said, what the prosecution said. But first, we'll just tell you, yes, what the judge says. So, yes, the headline is Timothy Busfield is getting to go home.
Chapter 3: What emotional moments occurred during Busfield's court hearing?
He said he combined all of these factors and did not agree with the prosecution that there are no conditions that can be set that can keep the community safe. It makes sense. There's no evidence that shows there's any pattern of abusing his power or a pattern of grooming children. Those are two major things the judge hit on.
That's right, because yes, prior allegations were brought up, but as it was pointed out, these were all post-pubescent women. So there's no pattern of him abusing children or any allegations of him abusing minors.
So how was he supposed to consider that? It makes sense what the judge was saying, but you combine that with zero criminal history. The other allegations you just mentioned, they're not vetted by the criminal justice system. So it's difficult to give weight to all that. So ultimately, the judge said he can go out under his own recognizance to set the scene here.
It was set for 2 o'clock local time, 4 o'clock on the East Coast this afternoon. And they told us straight up, hey, it's going to be... Each side gets an hour. Each side had a chance to bring witnesses. But even before we started, he came into court right on time at 4 o'clock Eastern. And Rosie was still wearing that same orange outfit. But he looked tired, disheveled. He looked exhausted.
Disheveled is the word that I came to mind when I saw him walk in. He was a far cry from the actor we're used to seeing. And yeah, he looked exhausted. He looked beaten down. He looked emotionally and physically just spent. And that's understandable.
And he was doing a little penguin walk. He was shackled, folks. He was shackled at his hands and his feet. And he was forced to walk in and out of court in that way.
Like a penguin. Yeah, that's a really good description.
I thought that was extraordinary as well. And what would you say? His family? Melissa was sitting how many? Two rows back, maybe?
Melissa was two rows back. And the camera, it was pretty remarkable to have the camera. We saw Timothy the entire time. We saw Melissa a lot of the time. But yeah, she was flanked with at least a dozen folks who looked like they were either family or friends of Melissa Gilbert and Timothy Busfield. And having that show of support was significant. It was a visual for sure.
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Chapter 4: What allegations are being made against Timothy Busfield?
Those were the words she used. And she said that she was and had been close to the family. And we will hear later and have heard that Timothy Busfield has actually referenced this. Young telling him something about the parents that would be in the defense's favor, not in the prosecution's favor.
Her name came up in that police report where he said he had contacted her and set up an interview and it was set. And then the day before it was supposed to happen, she called and canceled and said she doesn't want anything to do with this. Well, it sounded like this again, but she the boys played. her child in the show. So I was surprised, well, the prosecutors said how close she was.
She vacationed with the family.
Really close with the family.
Yes.
And the kids were on the show for three seasons. This is a lot of time. These folks probably did get really close.
Yes. And according to the Busfield camp, she is one of the ones who told Busfield that... She overheard when the parents found out that their children were not going to be picked up for season four. She said that basically she heard the mom say that, I'm going to have his ass, Timothy Busfield's ass.
But it's just interesting that this actress is dead set in the center of all this. Now, more about the boys here. And, Ro, this was a little, I say confusing, but I kept waiting for more to be there, probably from the prosecution. And this is all they got. But there was a lot of... They said this and they didn't say that and they told the therapist and then they told. It was a confusing story.
I'll be honest, it was a confusing story they were trying to weave about why what the boys were saying should absolutely be believed.
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Chapter 5: How did the prosecution argue against Busfield's release?
She was... She was the only one that didn't realize she wasn't having Perry Mason moments. She was really saying things as if, yeah, this is definitively the case. And it wasn't there.
And what she was saying, actually, I didn't think, and you didn't either, it seems like...
bolster her position and yet she was saying things that she acted as though there they carried weight or that they proved her point when actually i felt like they disproved her point so i was confused by her some of the points she was making because i felt like they went to the defense's favor not to the prosecution's favor
But she did spend some time, and we did learn a couple of things here about some past allegations. And we did learn, Robes, I hadn't seen this anywhere, that he settled a civil lawsuit with someone that came forward to accuse him years and years ago. This was 30 years ago?
30 years ago. I believe the woman at the time was, I say woman, but 17. 17. She brought up several allegations that, again, the judge ultimately pointed out were not vetted. So they weren't prosecuted. There were no police reports. There was no trial. So there's no way you can just say, okay. And she detailed a 17-year-old. We had already heard about the 16-year-old.
That, again, was from 30 years ago. And then she mentioned a 28-year-old woman as well.
He claimed that was a consensual case.
He claimed it was consensual, but her point was all of these narratives described a similar pattern of just sexual contact. There wasn't sexual assault or sexual abuse. There wasn't any allegations of any sexual acts taking place other than fondling or touching. And so she's saying this was a pattern. But again, it was a little puzzling because these were all...
And I'm not taking away any of those alleged victims' experiences, but it's very different when you're talking about a 7-year-old boy or an 8-year-old boy when it comes to a pattern.
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