The former child stars of “7th Heaven” are all grown up and have denounced their disgraced television father’s alleged sexual abuse of children.
Cast members Beverley Mitchell, David Gallagher and Mackenzie Rosman weren’t afraid to share their thoughts on their former co-star Stephen Collins during a rewatch episode of the “Catching Up with the Camdens” podcast on Monday.
“We do not excuse or condone his behavior,” said Mitchell, who starred as Lucy Camden on the show. “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.’”
Gallagher and Rosman — who played Simon and Ruthie respectively — were the two youngest members of the Camden clan in the pilot season.
The trio added that they “did not have any inappropriate experiences” with 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,” Gallagher said.
“As we re-watch these episodes, it would be impossible not to talk about Stephen because he was such a big part of the show and our lives,” Rosman added. “But we want to be clear that we did not have any inappropriate experiences with Stephen.”
Mitchell added that their former co-star will not be joining them on the podcast.
They acknowledged rewatching an episode involving an admitted child molester can be “triggering” to fans and they hope people will keep tuning in.
The disgraced actor played Reverend Eric Camden who lived in the fictional town of Glen Oak, Calif. and raised his seven kids with his wife in the family drama which ran from 1996 – 2007.
However, Collins’ personal life was very different off-camera.
Collins was allegedly taped by his estranged wife, actress Faye Grant, during a therapy session admitting to “inappropriate sexual conduct with three female minors” from 1973 to 1994, according to recordings obtained by TMZ in 2014.
In the recording, Collins allegedly said that one of the girls was a young relative of his first wife.
Collins and Grant’s divorce became official in 2015.
The confession caused him to be dropped from the sequel “Ted 2,” “7th Heaven” reruns were pulled from syndication and he resigned from the National Board of the Screen Actors Guild.
Collins admitted to the disturbing acts in 2014.
“Forty years ago, I did something terribly wrong that I deeply regret. I have been working to atone for it ever since,” Collins said in a statement to People.
In April, the 76-year-old was photographed for the first time in five years in Iowa.
Collins, a Des Moines native, was captured running errands, which included getting gas for his Toyota minivan and picking up groceries from a convenience store.
He has since married “7th Heaven” superfan from Germany Jenny Nagel and lives in their $557,000 Pleasant Lake home, according to the Daily Mail.
Fans were shocked in March to see how different the cast looked during a reunion – especially Gallagher who is rocking a bald head because people got to know him from his long blonde locks in the hit WB show.
The show launched actress Jessica Biel who went on to be nominated for an Emmy award and a Golden Globe award. Other recurring actors who appeared on the show show include Ashlee Simpson, Haylie Duff, Mila Kunis and Jane Lynch.
