Entertainer Craig McLachlan has described kissing fellow performers on the lips backstage as "de rigueur and commonplace" in the world of showbusiness, as he defends himself against indecent assault charges in court.
Key points:
- Mr McLachlan, 55, is facing several charges of assault and indecent assault
- He told the Melbourne Magistrates' Court he hugged and kissed fellow performers to "congratulate" them
- He denied his words or actions had a sexual meaning, connotation or ambition
He appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court today by videolink from the chambers of his barrister, Stuart Littlemore QC, in Sydney.
The 55-year-old is facing several charges of assault and indecent assault.
The hearing began a year ago when four women alleged inappropriate behaviour by Mr McLachlan when he was performing in The Rocky Horror stage show in 2014.
The allegations included that Mr McLachlan pressed his penis against one of the women.
He is also accused of non-consensual kissing on the neck and mouth, and running his hand up the inner thigh of one of the women.
Mr McLachlan has always maintained his innocence and once again strongly defended himself against the accusations.
He told the court he would often hug and kiss his fellow performers to "encourage and congratulate" them.
"In show business, kissing between performers … it is de rigueur," he said.
"It is commonplace, it is common practice."
Court told woman 'shared sensitive secrets'
But he denied his words or actions ever had a sexual meaning, connotation or ambition.
He said any inappropriate touching on stage "could only have been accidental".
Mr McLachlan said he was "stunned and flabbergasted" when he found out about the allegations.
"I found it quite paradoxical," he said.
One of the complainants would regularly sit on his lap in her underwear and confide in him, he said.
"She shared with me certain sensitive secrets, if I could put it in that way," he told the court.
The same woman would flick him on the bottom, he said.
He said another complainant would "enthusiastically" compliment the look of his bottom.
"Hey mister, that's a great ass, seriously as great asses go, that's a great ass," he recalled her saying.
"Keep squatting babe, it's working for you."
He said she would also "goose" him, which involved thrusting her fingers between his buttocks as a practical joke.
Once she also cupped his pectoral muscles with her hands and joked "my boobs were bigger than hers," Mr McLachlan said.
He said he was speaking hyperbolically when he told the woman "I can't stop thinking about you" and "I might be falling in love with you".
"To support or encourage, I mean she was not doing well at this stage," he explained.
"I wanted to finish our brief meeting with a joke."
He said a feud was going on at the time between the woman and another cast member.
"She couldn't wait to finish, she couldn't wait to get home," he said.
Craig McLachlan 'devastated' by woman's allegations
He said "horseplay" or "jokey pranks" were frequent backstage between members of the cast.
"Almost daily" he would tell male and female members of the production they were "the secret love of my life".
He said he and another complainant expressed their love for each other, but they did not mean it in a romantic way.
He described her as an "enthusiastic participant" in practical jokes like "wedgies" and "dacking" and the most vulgar person he had ever met.
"She is without doubt the most vulgar woman I know," he said.
"In fact, she would be the most vulgar woman I have ever encountered."
He said he was "devastated and deeply distressed" when he found out the woman had alleged inappropriate touching during a scene.
"It would have been impossible to do what she alleges," he said.
The hearing continues.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMia2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIwLTExLTAyL2FjdG9yLWNyYWlnLW1jbGFjaGxhbi1pbmRlY2VudC1hc3NhdWx0LW1lbGJvdXJuZS1jb3VydC1jYXNlLzEyODM5NTYw0gEnaHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAuYWJjLm5ldC5hdS9hcnRpY2xlLzEyODM5NTYw?oc=5
2020-11-02 05:30:00Z
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