The cast of 7th Heaven are speaking out against their former TV dad, Stephen Collins.
Ahead of dissecting the pilot of the hit WB/CW drama, Beverley Mitchell, David Gallagher and Mackenzie Rosman prefaced a new episode of their podcast, “Catching Up with the Camdens,” with a note about Collins, who in 2014 admitted to sexually abusing three minors.
“Before we get into this episode, 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,” said Mitchell, who played Lucy Camden, at the start of the episode. “But before we get into that, we do think it’s important that we say something about Stephen Collins.”
“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,” added Gallagher, who played Simon Camden.
Rosman, best known for playing Ruthie Camden, said, “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, we did not have any inappropriate experiences with Stephen.”
Mitchell, 43, assured fans that Collins, 76, “will not be joining us on this podcast.”
“We do not excuse or condone his behavior,” Mitchell added. “Our hope for this podcast is to reconnect with you, our fans, to relive some ’90s nostalgia and share our fondest memories of 7th Heaven.”
Collins played family patriarch Reverend Eric Camden on 7th Heaven, which ran for 11 seasons from 1996 to 2007. The drama follows the lives of Collins’ character, his wife, Annie, and their children. The ensemble cast also included Jessica Biel, Barry Watson and Catherine Hicks.
In December 2014, Collins admitted to sexually abusing three underage girls after TMZ published an audio recording of him revealing his transgressions in a marriage counseling session with his ex-wife, Faye Grant. He said the three incidents took place between 1973 and 1994.
“I’m a flawed person,” Collins said in an interview with Katie Couric at the time. “In the church, it’s actually one of the things I love about the church … it’s really one of the main things about the Christian faith, is you know, Christ said in so many ways, ‘Bring me that … which about you is broken, bring it,’ and most people are broken in some way.”
He continued: “Most people get to, or have to, or choose to hide it. This came out. I didn’t choose this to come out. I didn’t want to have to deal with these things publicly. … I had dealt with them very, very strongly, and committedly, in my private life, but I think, I’m a human being with flaws and I’ve done everything I can to address it.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
