Chapter 1: What are the implications of due process in the context of social movements?
Thank you, darling. We are positively thrilled. Hoping all is well and wonderful with you. Love, Tiness.
Well, you've got to be careful now, because we've seen... This is the lesson we refuse to learn. There's allegations made, and we jump in and we start doing commentary. Then later, a court reaches a decision and we go, oh, what do we do now?
increasingly, I think what's happening is that whether they, journalists, commentators, default to the accusers or not, depends on their pre-existing politics. Do they fit into the boxes that I want to defend or not? And that's just backwards. That's just the wrong way to approach these things. Waleed Ali, Chow Tan, The Project 2043.
So it was very much a divide and conquer approach. Very, very much. And, you know, I started noticing in Melbourne that to... I'll just get you to say it in your own words, divide and conquer might not be, but if you could describe the strategy that he was using to stop you women talking to each other, how would you describe it? He was wanting to alienate us.
Like there was a particular person that I noticed was suddenly becoming completely alienated from the whole group. And I... Like, I didn't trust her. And that was Chris. And I've worked with Chris before. We've been friends.
And I started getting increasingly paranoid that she was saying things about me behind my back because I'd been told that she was saying things about other people and that she was bad news. Not guilty. The Craig McLachlan Case. Episode 4. Thank you, darling.
Disclaimer. Please note that names have been changed for legal and privacy reasons. The main complainants will be known as C1, C2 and C3. Hello, my name is Vanessa Scammell and welcome back to Episode 4.
Back in 2017, when the Me Too movement was at its frenzied peak, three of Craig McLaughlin's former colleagues from the 2014 Rocky Horror Show production decided to go to the press to air allegations of harassment, bullying and indecent assault against him. When these damning allegations were made Craig and I clung to the hope that after due process was carried out i.e.
when the charges that were laid against him were heard in a court of law when a not guilty verdict finally came in everything would change.
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Chapter 2: How did the Me Too movement impact the allegations against Craig McLachlan?
Punch me. Have you ever been partially aroused in a pre-show warm-up? No. Or aroused? No, never. Ever in your life? Ever. I've never been on any stage, in any venue, anywhere in the world where I have been engaged to perform in a state of arousal or semi-arousal. Fact. Have you ever gyrated or made some figure-of-eight motion when you hugged any person during a warm-up in Rocky Horror Show 2014?
No. You heard her claim that you were not wearing underpants. True or false? False. What are your thoughts of not wearing underpants at that time? There would not be a male performer or male dancer on the face of the planet who would attempt... or do a warm-up in nothing but, in this case, silky boxers with no underwear. I certainly wouldn't. I certainly haven't.
Was there any other influence on the clothes you wore backstage before, during performances, or before a performance? This is a reference to the weather? Yes. She claimed that this happened in Melbourne toward the end of the season, which puts us in the middle of the Melbourne winter in a notoriously cold, old comedy theatre.
The thought of cruising around the stage without underpants on, it is ridiculous. And it did not happen.
To summarise, in court, Craig's absolute denial of any form of assault on C2, as alleged, was unchallenged in cross-examination. Craig's evidence that if a hug occurred, it was an unremarkable embrace consistent with his usual conduct was unchallenged in cross-examination. There was no intended sexual connotation in any contact with C2 ever. Craig's denial was unchallenged in Cross.
C2's claim of erection tumescence is false, surely visible to others if true. Yet again, Craig's denial was unchallenged. Her claim that he wore no underpants is baseless, impossible for her to make, and yet again this evidence was unchallenged in Cross. Craig was, in fact, dressed for cold conditions and wearing multiple layers, including an athletic support and underwear beneath boxes.
This evidence was unchallenged. Craig categorically denied that he gyrated or moved indecently against C2. Again, this evidence was unchallenged. Note well, there was no witness to this hug, even though the full cast, crew and stage management were present at the time of the alleged incident.
In summation, the bulk of Craig's evidence in relation to this charge and this complainant was unchallenged in cross-examination. And again, I remind you what unchallenged evidence means.
When the accused person in a criminal matter in Victoria isn't challenged on their evidence, it means that their testimony or evidence presented in court is accepted without contradiction or cross-examination by the prosecution or other parties involved in the case.
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Chapter 3: What evidence did the police present regarding the charges against Craig McLachlan?
Witness 3. This chorus member gave a statement to police that he saw Craig kiss C2 on the lips, but whilst giving evidence in court, he said, "...it was not an assault or offensive in any way. There was no mention of forced tongue kissing, and again, he was on stage on the night C2 alleged the kiss took place, but he noticed nothing remotely resembling an assault or a tongue kiss." Witness 4.
Another cast member acknowledged that the kiss was part of the scene and that he saw nothing untoward at any time, certainly nothing like C2 described, and he was staring right at Craig. That was his direction.
Frank walks to the front of the stage and finishes singing as Columbia hugs him. I'm standing and staring at Frank the whole time. I've watched this scene every single day. There is a gap of about one second in between Frank's sun lines. The kiss was a pick on the lips. She was about two arms lengths in front of me.
If Craig put his tongue in her mouth, I would have seen it, along with the 900 people in the comedy theater. It was a small theater.
Witness 5. Chorus member 2 claims C2 told him about a kiss, but there was no mention of use of a tongue, and although he was on stage at the time of the alleged kiss, he saw nothing. He also gave evidence to say he saw no change in the way Craig played the scene in Melbourne from the rest of the tour. Witness 6.
The best friend of C2 gave at best vague evidence that she had been told about an unscripted kiss.
In the going home scene, Craig interacts with principals, including me and Janet. Craig would approach Janet and have a very brief interaction. As to Columbia, I never saw a kiss in that scene in which Craig used his tongue. I have no doubt it didn't occur.
So what of the police investigation leading up to charges being laid against Craig? Firstly, it is shocking to me that the police failed to ascertain whether the fundamentals of the scene included a kiss between the characters of Columbia and Frankenfurter, because the fundamentals did include that kiss. All it would involve would be to watch an archival video of the show.
That would be a representative video of the 2014 production, footage that was shot during that season of Rocky. Yet the police did not attempt to secure footage of the 2014 Rocky Horror Show production. Not only did they never ask the production company for footage, they did not subpoena the production company for footage.
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Chapter 4: Was C2 a credible witness in the allegations against Craig McLachlan?
Because it would have shown the absurdity of the allegations? It turned out there were four archival videos of the complete Rocky Horror Show that were made throughout the tour of 2014. Each archival video shows that there was a directed kiss between Frank and Columbia, either on the lips or the forehead.
Three of the four videos show Frank kiss Columbia on the lips, as directed, between sung lines for around one second. Every actor who works in theatre knows that archival recordings of the show are made, yet it seems that not one of the complainants suggested to the police that this would be good material to view, material that could perhaps back up their allegations, or not.
In watching this archival footage, it is plain to see that a kiss existed between Frank and Columbia from the opening city to the last city of the tour. The kiss was not unscripted or unnecessary, as various cast members told press and police. As previously mentioned, the police and prosecutors seemed to ignore any evidence from other witnesses that didn't assist their case.
In the evidence presented to the police, C2 claimed that she spoke to the resident director about not wanting to do the kiss in the scene, but it turns out that the female resident director could not corroborate this.
She said that she was not spoken to about not wanting to do the kiss between the character of Columbia and Frank, and therefore she certainly didn't inform Craig of C2's wish for the kiss not to be included. Was the kiss unscripted? The stage manager, an extremely experienced and professional woman, gave evidence in court that the Columbia character and Craig kissed on stage in this moment.
She explained that in rehearsals... If the director likes any changes to the script or blocking, it becomes set and is part of the show. This kissing became part of the Columbia role. It was part of the show. So with this sort of evidence, why were charges laid? Why wasn't C2 more thoroughly investigated?
Why weren't these witness statements from other members of the Rocky Horror Show Company explored further?
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Chapter 5: What inconsistencies exist in C2's account of the alleged incidents?
Was it because Me Too had taken over? That all women were to be believed? Or was it that if the Crown hadn't laid charges, the press would have gone to town over an inactive and unwilling Victorian police force? Now let's go to Craig's headline evidence.
Craig did not dispute that there was a kiss in the going home scene. The kiss was a long-standing inclusion in the stage directions. He had played the scene that way, kissing Columbia on the lips at least 130 times. This evidence was unchallenged in Cross.
Chapter 6: How did the magistrate's commentary affect the perception of the case?
He kissed C2, who played Columbia in that scene, five times whilst in Melbourne. This evidence was unchallenged. The resident director never asked Craig not to perform the kiss with C2. This evidence was unchallenged. Craig was at all times unaware of any objection to the kiss on C2's part. This evidence was unchallenged.
Craig honestly and reasonably believed that C2 consented to play the scene as directed, which included the kiss. This evidence was unchallenged. Craig did not use his tongue in the kiss. His denial was unchallenged. In court, Craig demonstrated that the scene was timed to the music, causing the kiss to take one second to perform, making a tongue kiss as alleged impossible.
This evidence was unchallenged.
What became apparent during this criminal hearing is that a vast majority of the police witnesses, witnesses the prosecution were relying on to prove the allegations, in fact gave evidence that ended up assisting Craig's case. The UK director, who returned to Australia and saw the show in Adelaide, saw nothing that had crept into the production that he wanted to change or remove.
There was nothing in the show that he didn't accept. In fact, he was delighted with it. The kiss was being performed in this city. Not one cast member, all of whom were on stage in this scene, all directed to be staring at Frank the entire time, saw a kiss that was out of the ordinary, let alone an assault.
Not a single cast, crew, management from the Rocky Horror Show gave evidence of seeing C2 crying after a kiss on stage. In court, another witness gave her determined chief evidence that she had seen Craig kiss C2 on the lips in the going home scene, but it turns out she didn't. When crossed by Mr Littlemore, she admitted she hadn't actually seen their lips touch.
C2 did not ever make a complaint to anyone in the Rocky Horror Show management about assault or anything related to sexual harassment, ever. The actor playing the role of Brad gave evidence in court that he saw a kiss exchanged between Frank and the original cast member who played Columbia, but made no mention of seeing a kiss with C2.
Another cast member, who had performed this role over 1,600 times around the world, witnessed a one-second kiss on the lips between Frank and Columbia and said that he did not ever observe Craig putting his tongue into C2's or any other actor's mouth while they were playing the role.
I've seen several Franks kiss Columbia in that scene. In 2014, the direction in that scene was for everyone to watch Craig. I didn't take my eyes off him. There was a spotlight on him, following him. I watched him very closely every night. Sometimes there was a kiss, to the lips or to the head. I never saw Craig put his tongue in Columbia's mouth. That would have been very difficult.
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