“Before some of the cast members of 7th Heaven look back on filming the show in a rewatch podcast, they took a moment to address the elephant in the room. Prior to starting their episode for their Catching Up With The Camdens podcast, Beverley Mitchell, David Gallagher and Mackenzie Rosman, known for their roles of”, — write: www.hollywoodreporter.com
Prior to starting their episode for their Catching Up With The Camdens podcast, Beverley Mitchell, David Gallagher and Mackenzie Rosman, known for their roles of Lucy, Simon and Ruthie, respectively on the series talked about the “inappropriate sexual conduct” their former TV dad, Stephen Collins, previously confessed to.
“We want you to know that we see all of your comments and we know how excited you all are for the rewatch so that’s exactly what we’re going to do, but before we get into that we do think it’s important that we say something about Stephen Collins,” Mitchell said.
Gallagher added, “All forms of abuse, sexual abuse of any kind, it’s inexcusable. And victims of abuse need to be shown compassion, and they should be given support.”
“As we rewatch these episodes, it would be impossible not to talk about Stephen because he was such a big part of the show and our lives, but we want to be clear that we did not have any inappropriate experiences with Stephen,” Rosman continued.
“We do not excuse or condone his behavior. Our hope for this podcast is to reconnect with you, our fans, to relive some ’90s nostalgia and to share our fondest memories of 7th Heaven,” she said.
Gallagher ended with, “We know this is difficult, and we understand that it can be triggering, but we want to say that we love you guys, and we are so grateful for all the love and support that you, our community, have shown to us. So, hopefully you guys will stick with us as we continue on this journey.”
They also confirmed that Collins would not be appearing on the rewatch podcast.
In 2014, Collins, who portrayed Reverand Eric Camden on the family drama, admitted to “inappropriate sexual conduct with three female minors” from 1997 to 1994. As a result, Collins was dropped from his agency and lost acting roles on Ted 2 and Scandal. At the time, reruns of 7th Heaven were also pulled from two networks. He also resigned from his spot on the SAG-AFTRA board. At the time, Collins, whom authorities reportedly decided not to prosecute following his confession, said he hasn’t engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct with minors since.
The reveal came as a result of audio of Collins from a marriage therapy session in 2012, and was posted online by TMZ. Collins claims the recording was made without his or the therapist’s knowledge or consent.
“The publication of the recording has resulted in assumptions and innuendos about what I did that go far beyond what actually occurred. As difficult as this is, I want people to know the truth,” he told People at the time.
“Forty years ago, I did something terribly wrong that I deeply regret. I have been working to atone for it ever since,” Collins also said in the statement.