Charles in Charge became even more impossible to rewatch in 2018 when series star Nicole Eggert went into great detail describing the alleged behavior of her fellow actor, Scott Baio.
It all started on Twitter, which was still called Twitter back in those days instead of trying to convince everyone that it got the nickname “X” while it was at camp over the summer. Eggert, in a since-deleted tweet reported on by People, wrote that curious parties should “ask @scottbaio what happened in his garage at his house” when she was underage, vaguely elaborating that the behavior in question started when she was 14 years old.
What accusations did Nicole Eggert level at Scott Baio?
Baio fired back, claiming that the allegations were entirely made up, and went so far as to claim that he and his legal team had shut down Eggert’s previous attempts to disparage his name by threatening legal action against the Dr. Oz show when Eggert was scheduled to make an appearance. Eggert, for her part, doubled down with a spot on Megyn Kelly Today a few days later.
During the interview, Eggert claimed that she was abused by Baio “about once a week” when she was between the ages of 14 and 16 and he was in his 20s. She detailed instances of being touched inappropriately and claimed that fellow members of the cast of Charles in Charge had witnessed fondling and kissing on set when she was underage. Eggert went on to repeat her previous assertion that she had lost her virginity to Baio when she was 17.
Explaining why she hadn’t come forward with her story before, Eggert explained that “(…)it was always protecting the show and protecting that whole legacy — that nothing happened. That was my delusion and that was my cover-up, always.”
Baio, meanwhile, continued to deny any wrongdoing, stating that, like all good guys, he waited until the child he’d been working with for years had turned 18 before getting intimate with her. Furthermore, he remained steadfast in his recollection that Eggert had seduced him, showing up at his house after Charles in Charge was off the air.
He alleged that Eggert had made her claims in a shot at cheap publicity, which would seem like a bold assertion if it wasn’t coming from a guy who actively promoted Sandy Hook conspiracy theories on social media. Eggert went on to state that she’d been advised of legal options, including a possible liable suit thanks to Baio’s claims that she had lied about the whole affair. As of 2024, no legal action has been taken.