Congratulations Julie and Adam!

Julie McGregor got married!

Betty Wilson getting marriedMost of you know her as “Betty” and some of you may remember the infamous Hey Dad..! episode where Betty was supposed to marry long time fiancé Stan.

In real life however, this past weekend, Julie McGregor married long time beau, Adam. I wish I could have made the trip back home for the wedding, but I didn’t want to sour a happy occasion by having it get turned into an excuse for paparazzi to bring up the recent events….

Simone flew up from Melbourne and she messaged me and told me it was a beautiful day. I’m looking forward to seeing the pics online. I think there’s going to be a spread in Woman’s Day, so I’ll have to order a copy of the mag online.

So Congratulations to Julie and Adam. I hope you two are as happy as Matt and I am. I can’t wait to see you guys as Mr and Mrs when I come home next.

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So excited, I can’t sleep

I’m headed to Florida!

So after the whole “Hey Dad Sex Scandal” broke, I decided I wasn’t going to do any work on Going Down for a while. I didn’t want people to think the only reason for going public was to create publicity for the show, so I decided to just put it on hold for a while.
Then, with the end of summer fast aproaching, I started to feel a little depressed that I didn’t get any diving in this year. So, I was so excited to see that at least David was doing some exciting stuff with the Formula H2O racing. After blogging about it, we talked on the phone, and he says, “Why don’t you come down and film it?”  I thought about it and it sounded super exciting. A weekend in sunny Ft. Lauderdale, filming some cool scuba adventures. I was thinking, I can’t really put my life on hold forever, waiting for this to go to trial. I have to get on with life. So, I said, let me talk to Matt.

So, having decided I wasn’t going to let Oz hold me back, the only thing left was dealing with the financials of going. It’s pretty last minute. It’s already Tuesday, and the event starts Friday. Last minute tickets are super pricey, and I’m super cheap. err, Frugal. It’s what makes me a good producer. So I look at tickets. We could get down there for just under $400 each. But then there was still hotel, car, gear and diving. I was still on the fence.

Driving home, stuck in traffic, I remembered that Matt’s Mom had offered us reward tickets she had on Southwest. I wondered if she still had them and if they had weird restrictions like you had to book them 2 weeks in advance and only on a full moon. So I got home, told Matt about filming in Florida, and asked if his Mom still had the tickets, if he wanted to go. He said he had to work, but that I should go. So I called his Mom and she said to get online and find the flight I wanted and she’d get the ticket.

We then headed off to a big family dinner. It was Matt’s great Aunts birthday. About 20 people all got together for some BBQ. I was in a super good mood and was so happy when Matt’s grandpa, who’s just adorable told his sister that I was his favourite grandkid. He melts my heart!

Then it was off back home. I was looking at the host hotel everyone is staying at and they didn’t have prices listed on their website, which made me nervous. I got on travelocity, to see reviews and to get an idea of prices. Then, like he was reading my mind, David emailed and said to call the hotel direct and tell them I was with the racing group. Their price was $59 a night. Score! It’s right on the beach too.

So then all I had to worry about was diving. It’s not cheap in Texas. Since I was flying back Monday midday, I would be able to dive Saturday and Sunday. The scuba shop sponsoring the event, South Florida Diving was running two dive trips for $55 a day. Both days are only $110. That’s so cheap!

David then emails and says there’s going to be a bunch of underwater cameras, and they’re willing to share film, so all I have to worry about it filming topside. Then of course, editing. 

So, I’m stoked. I get to go to Ft. Lauderdale, which I’ve never been to before. I get to go diving. I get to see some cool Formula H20 Racing. I get to spend the weekend with David and his girl Dee. I get to do some filming for Going Down and I don’t have to worry about breaking my budget. Thanks Mom!

Life is good.

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Finally back home

For those of you wondering if I ever made an official police statement, Yes, I did. There is still a media blackout, so the police will not talk about it till all the statements have been taken.

For the people who have posted on forums why I didn’t just call the police or send am email, I’m guessing you’ve never actually given a police statement.

The detectives I was with were wonderful people. It wasn’t nearly as brutal as I thought it was going to be, however, it was still over 35 hrs spent giving my testimony to the police. Not exactly something that could me done over skype…  The police are also aware of any money that I may have received for my story. If only it were really as much as people are speculating! Try removing a couple of zero’s and you’d be closer to it…

My original article in Woman’s Day was supposed to be a general warning to the public. We never anticipated that people were going to demand a name and shame, only to later decide they only really wanted him named if it wasn’t someone famous…. Sorry, but you can’t have it both ways.

ACA only named him after there was sufficient evidence, and as a way to clear the names of the innocent. Trust me, lots of lawyers were involved. We all had to sign Stat Decs before we went to air.  It wasn’t a decision to be taken lightly. Especially given that several people are still working actors. Going against the flow could cost them dearly.

I don’t really care what people think of me. They can hate on me all they like. I know that I have given courage to several women to talk about their cases of sexual abuse. Not necessarily by the same man, but by victims in general. A quick search on the internet reveals thousands of people talking about the case. Whether they think I did the right thing or not, people are talking about it. People are discussing it. People are letting the skeletonss come out of the closet.  That was what I wanted. I wanted this to become something people could talk about. It shouldn’t be a dirty little secret that people are ashamed to talk about. People need to stand up and be heard.

So think of me what you will. I am still glad I told my story. I’m glad I got people to talk about sexual abuse.

For anyone still scared of going to the police, I encourage you to do so. While yes, you do have to go into every little detail, think of it as therapy. They’re there to help you.

Thank you to the Detectives of Strike Force Ruskin who took my statement.

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Thanks for the support

I’d like to say thank you to the people who sent me messages of support over the last couple of days. It was a hard decision for me to allow the story to run. It’s uncomfortable for me to dredge up the past and re-live it. Some of the personal emails I’ve received have been very touching and very appreciated.

For those of you who feel that I wasn’t “abused enough” to complain or that I’m an attention seeking whore, I truly hope nothing bad ever happens to you in life, or if it does, people don’t feel the need to email you hateful things or tweet about what an idiot you are. Hopefully someone will show you love and compassion. One of the reasons I didn’t want to do the story was a fear of people thinking I was only doing it for the publicity. I was prepared for it, but it still hurts when people send you hateful emails.

My only goal is to educate people that working as a child in the entertainment industry is not as glamorous as people think it is. It’s work, just like any other industry. (Although Child Labour laws don’t allow children to work in most other industries) I’d like to create more support for child actors, a safer environment for them to work in, and a way for them to make a smooth transition to adulthood.

So I’m sorry to those of you out there who are offended by my coming forward too many years later, or for being a whiny sook, or for actually still conducting a life and owning a business that you chose to Google and think I’m trying to get publicity for.

To those of you who have sent messages of support, THANK YOU. I appreciate you.

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About THAT article…..

Since I got an email less than an hour after WD released the article online, and I was made to feel bad about not naming the offender because it makes everyone look guilty, I’d like to say the following:

I did not go to the media looking to sell my story. They have been asking me to release my story for over 2 years now.

It obviously wasn’t a secret, since the media knew about it and came to me looking to publish the story.

The publication chose not to release his name for legal reasons. I guess they’re worried about a slander suit.

It was such a badly kept secret, that when I came back to Australia from my student exchange, the only questions I got at auditions were about that. In the end, I decided to not act anymore, since that was all anybody wanted to talk about.

I didn’t want to do the article, as it’s obviously a very personal story and I didn’t feel the need to rehash the past, but a wise person told me that if by doing the article, I can give strength to even one other person to come forward and say that it’s happening to them and it helps it stop, then I’ve done a good thing.

I know I was not the only person affected by inappropriate behavior in the entertainment industry. Many other Child Stars are abused, many far worse than I. But through a fear of not working, they don’t speak up. Instead, they end up on drugs or bad pornos. As we’ve seen in the last couple of years, many end up dying way too early. How many Former Child Stars do you see making it as normal adults? There’s a reason they’re so screwed up.

It’s not Show Play, or Show Fun, it’s Show Business and it’s not a place for unattended children.  I hope that by coming forward, I can educate some parents on making better decisions for their children. I hope that other children can find the strength to stand up for themselves.

What happened to me was NOT my fault. I’m sorry if it makes the innocent look guilty. But I’m not going to feel guilty for speaking up and breaking the silence. I just wish I had done it 20 years sooner.

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