Ratings & Revenge: Nicole Eggert, Alexander Polinsky and the Dark Side of #Metoo

July 3, 2020- Held in Parsippany, New Jersey each fall, the Chiller Theater convention brings together retired television stars with their fans for a little reminiscing and a little commerce. The stars sit at long tables; autographs and fan photos are sold, stories are exchanged, childhoods are relived. It is a lighthearted event. But at Chiller late in October 2017, something darker lurked behind the “meet and greets” and mutual admiration. At Chiller one evening, as part of the cast of the 80s hit show “Charles in Charge” spent time reminiscing, former child actors Alexander Polinsky and Nicole Eggert discussed their intention to take down Scott Baio through a media campaign alleging he had abused them. Based on a two-year investigation, this is the never before told story of how these two child stars conspired, for reasons of their own, to destroy the life and career of their co-star with claims of abuse that don’t stand up to even simple scrutiny.

The conversation started with Polinsky, who had drifted through his life post-Charles in Charge without much direction, supporting himself with cartoon voiceover work and selling fans “telephone conversations” and website content via Patreon. He was deeply angered by Baio’s politics and told Eggert that Baio “had it coming” for his support of Donald Trump. He was also emotionally fragile, and had for years blamed Baio for being frequently teased on the Charles in Charge set. He had come to Baio’s surprise fiftieth birthday party in 2010 and would later claim he had been teased again by guests at the party. He believed Baio had set him up (as a surprise party, Baio had no idea it was taking place, much less the guests), and he was still carrying a grudge from decades ago.

He found a willing accomplice in Nicole Eggert, who according to multiple witnesses had avidly pursued Baio during her teen years on Charles in Charge. In the eighties and nineties, Baio had been one of Hollywood’s hottest stars, and dated some of Hollywood’s most beautiful women, like Heather Locklear, Nicolette Sheridan, Kay Lenz, and Pam Anderson. Eggert had been jealous as a teen, secretly following Baio around town and showing up unbidden at his home and at restaurants and clubs. Indeed, one of Eggert’s best friends from those years later described their activities as “borderline stalking” of Baio in a statement she gave to investigators. Baio had been mystified during those years at how often Eggert simply “showed up” wherever he was… all over Hollywood. As he discovered decades later, Eggert had simply followed him whenever she could.

In recent years, Eggert had run out of work, filed bankruptcy multiple times, suffered health problems and been detained for DUI. She had long resented Baio, who had consistently worked after Charles in Charge, and ultimately married Renee Sloan, a blonde beauty stuntwoman from Tennessee. During the year before the Chiller convention, there had been talk of a Charles in Charge reboot, and Eggert heard Baio had killed the idea by refusing to participate, which was untrue. But she believed it, and she told those around her at Chiller that she was going to get even. And across Hollywood, new winds were blowing that gave her a platform larger than she had ever imagined.

On October 6, 2017, Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey published a takedown of Harvey Weinstein and a Hollywood culture of silence towards women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted for decades. Their New York Times piece, meticulously researched and devastatingly reported, broke like a bombshell over Hollywood, and led to an immediate spasm of stories from actresses (and a few actors) who were now free to talk of sexual harassment and worse in a new culture of acceptance towards the victims, and anger towards their aggressors. But not every charge was vetted and checked like those in the New York Times. Indeed, while some of the men named were caught with evidence and corroboration, other claims offered no proof at all.

Many of these #metoo stories were decades old, and the evidence trail to substantiate them had long gone cold. The entire idea of due process for these charges was considered to be unnecessary or worse, part of a system that had oppressed these victims for many years. And their claims inevitably led to a steady parade of actors and media personalities apologizing and acknowledging misdeeds. Generally, their apologies were not accepted; they found their careers abruptly canceled. And in this new and viral culture of unquestioning acceptance of every claim as fact, a small number of women sensed an opportunity to address old slights by coming along for the ride with false allegations.

The number most often quoted for false rape allegations is 2% of all complaints. But according to Dr. Brent Turvey, considered one of the world’s leading experts in false allegations (and author of a peer reviewed volume of the same name used by profilers and investigators worldwide) false claims of rape range from 8% to 41%, depending on the study quoted and a wide array of local factors and law enforcement policies. His book explores the motivations for false allegations among both the alleged victims that make them and the authorities that take them. Leading the list are profit, personal gain, anger, and revenge. All of these would be seen in the Polinsky/Eggert matter.

Polinsky asked other Charles in Charge cast members at Chiller, including Willie Aames, the other adult lead from the original cast, to back up his and Eggert’s story about Scott Baio. According to those who know him, Aames is by nature a peacemaker, having suffered a difficult young adulthood that left him living, for a time, in the streets. He was also guilt ridden by the role he had played in the teasing of Polinsky on the “Charles in Charge” set. Aames had never seen any inappropriate conduct from Baio, either towards Polinsky or Eggert. But, at least at first, he agreed to support them as they “lived their truths,” though these “truths” were not his own.

Soon after, Polinsky tweeted that he had been abused and witnessed abuse by Scott Baio. Unsurprisingly, his post went viral, and he was approached by the producers of The Dr. Oz Show about doing a Scott Baio takedown episode. He entered negotiations to tell his story of being ridiculed and teased relentlessly on set. During all of his communications with Oz and the show producers, he never made any claim of having been sexually abused or assaulted.

But Dr. Oz producers had reached out because they were looking for their own big #metoo moment, and while they liked Polinsky’s story, it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t #metoo. It was only when Polinsky brought Nicole Eggert into the picture that they became excited. Eggert told them a story of having sex with Scott Baio before she was 18. Eggert claimed she would be supported by other members of the cast. Scott Baio was a big target, a teen heartthrob turned politically conservative in adulthood, and an avid Donald Trump supporter who spoke at the 2016 Republican Convention, which infuriated Polinsky. He was controversial, and controversy drives ratings. Having Nicole Eggert charge Scott Baio on-air with statutory rape would be a huge story any time, but in the dawning days of #metoo, it was a surefire ratings blockbuster.

However, there were several problems with the narrative Polinsky and Eggert offered Oz. Polinsky had named Willie Aames as an additional guest who would support their story. While the peacemaker in Willie Aames was willing to appear on Oz to support Polinsky and Eggert personally, he didn’t validate their claims… at all. Oz exchanged emails and had multiple telephone conversations with Aames, who told Oz that Eggert was abusing alcohol (as Aames had seen himself at the Chiller convention) and couldn’t be trusted. Oz continued to contact him, hoping perhaps that he would relent and tell a different story. But he never did. Oz had little time to consider Aames’ unexpected denial of Eggert’s claims. More problems were rearing their head that threatened to derail Oz’s exclusive.

First, Nicole Eggert was demanding payment before she would do the show, which sidetracked the episode. In a shocking audio recording, prepared for a podcast, Alex Polinsky speaks to a former “Charles in Charge” writer, discussing both Eggert’s dishonesty and her demands from Oz, “She’s made all kinds of things up. She’s lied to me and Willie and become a liability to our… (Triumvirate). But she’s demanding money from Oz and they might pay her… who knows? (She’s demanding money from who?) From Dr. Oz. To go on the show.”

Demanding payment should have sent up a warning flare to Dr. Oz that Eggert’s story was false. Indeed, Dr. Turvey in his book lists the red flags that suggest the possibility of a false allegation. Elements of this list echo Eggert’s history and claims:

· Profit or Personal Gain

· Anger & Revenge

· Concealment of Illicit Activity or Crime

· Mitigation of Responsibility

· Emotional Illness

With Eggert now seeking payment, she met Turvey’s criteria for most of these warning signs. Willie Aames, who had agreed to appear purely to support Polinsky and Eggert, was dismayed by her demand for cash, and he dropped out of the show. And soon after, so did Alexander Polinsky.

As Eggert had amplified her claims about Scott Baio, Polinsky was scared. He had received a cease and desist letter from Baio’s lawyer after his original tweet, and it rattled him. His friends told him that the salacious facts about Polinsky that would be uncovered in a lawsuit would end his cartoon voiceover career. He still wanted Baio taken down but was afraid to do it himself. He talked himself out of doing the show and dropped out as well.

By now, it was early January of 2018. Polinsky had tweeted about his so-called abuse months earlier, then stopped and fallen silent. Eggert had since started regularly tweeting accusations at Baio, deleting them minutes or hours later. It was clear that she was going to go public, and the only question was where. In the mind of producers, it was time to present a Dr. Oz show based solely on Eggert’s claims or lose her to someone else. Eggert told Polinsky that she was going to “play the role of big sister” and flew to New York for a January 10th taping. It is unknown whether Oz agreed to her demands and paid her to appear. After interviewing Eggert, as part of the process of preparing the show for air, Oz producers contacted Baio’s agent Harry Gold on January 16, 2018 by email, seeking Baio’s comment on Eggert’s claims.

Oz producer Christine Byun described seven claims Eggert made during the show taping, specifically that (quoting):

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