Producer Gary Goddard, speaking through his publicist, Sam Singer, on Friday “unequivocally” denied “ER” star Anthony Edwards’ accusation that he molested the young actor when he was a child.
“Gary was a mentor, teacher and a friend to Anthony, which makes this story all the more disturbing to him,” Singer said in a statement Friday night. “As to the allegations that Mr. Edwards made in his post today, I can unequivocally deny them on Gary’s behalf.”
Edwards wrote in an essay on Medium Friday that he was molested as a child by the director-producer, saying that the entertainment executive abused him and his friends when he was 12 years old.
“My vulnerability was exploited,” Edwards wrote. “I was molested by Goddard, my best friend was raped by him – and this went on for years. The group of us, the gang, stayed quiet.”
Edwards went on to write that, as an adult, he confronted Goddard, who “swore to his remorse and said that he had gotten help … I felt a temporary sense of relief. I say temporary because when Goddard appeared in the press four years ago for alleged sexual abuse, my rage resurfaced.”
Read Edwards’ full essay here and Singer’s statement below.
I am responding on behalf of producer and writer Gary Goddard to allegations posted and made today by actor Anthony Edwards on the website Medium.
Gary first met Anthony more than 40 years ago. Gary was a mentor, teacher and a friend to Anthony, which makes this story all the more disturbing to him. As to the allegations that Mr. Edwards made in his post today, I can unequivocally deny them on Gary’s behalf.
Gary played an important role in helping start Anthony’s acting career and acted as his personal manager. He has nothing but the greatest respect for Anthony as a person. Gary is saddened by the false allegations.
The post by Anthony, as well as many of the news stories today reference a legal claim made against Gary approximately four years ago regarding sexual harassment. The complaint was demonstrated to be fraudulent as it was completely fabricated, and ultimately withdrawn by the complainant and his attorneys.