* How are you going? Been a while. Been a while since we last videoed anything together. Well, guess what? It's 2019. 2019. It's March in a couple of days. Still no resolution, no vindication, no victory. Still no work, still no money, still no reputation. What a (BLEEP) joke. A (BLEEP) disgrace. Hope your lives are good. Treasure them. Because they can be taken away... (CLICKS FINGERS) ..like that, and you'll die trying to get it back. I just have a feeling that he's going to try and kiss me tonight. CRAIG: The crucifixion was so brutal and thorough. I haven't worked a day since. He grabbed me and kissed me. Yeah, I did go to her dressing room. I was charged criminally. All hell breaks loose. This is what I struggle with. I was public enemy number one. He's been abandoned by everybody. How am I going to survive this? (THUNDER) CRAIG: I surf at night because I feel safe. I can't be seen. I'm on my own, it's just me and the ocean. (THUNDER) I was admitted into a mental health facility. I contemplated the unthinkable. My family would be better off without me. They got everything they wanted. WOMAN SPEAKS: WOMAN: Yep. WOMAN: Really. CRAIG: Hypothetically, imagine if I had evidence that indicated that the media manipulated people to say certain things, to destroy me. WOMAN: Predatory. PRODUCER: Do that again. Yep, OK. Was 'predatory' in there? They knew exactly what they were doing, those journalists. They knew exactly what they were doing. Are you happy with that, director? MAN: Yeah, I think that's good. That was absolutely brilliant. Awesome. This is it. That's where it happened. I was there, I'm a woman. Believe me. You do it for other women. He did that to me too. CRAIG: In this post-Weinstein hashtag-me-too world-gone-mad, I can't win. No one will listen to me. WOMAN: Fight. CRAIG: And I'm not having it. WOMAN: Gloves are off. CRAIG: No one's heard my side of the story. I've just waited for the day that I can speak. PRODUCER: Could you have done it without her? No. She never doubted me. None of it held up. It didn't happen. I'm sitting here today 100% acquitted, I'm an innocent man. We have a lot to say. And I have held it in for nearly three and a half years. PRODUCER: I'm looking for a sharp, short... You said, "This is predatory behaviour," "it wasn't a one-off" "and when we all share our stories, we realise how calculated he was." PRODUCER: They were the words that I wrote down. Maybe even just start with... "You know, we wouldn't be listened to." CAMERAMAN: OK. I guess we all felt that his star power and his influence was more valuable and more important than us. PRODUCER: Perfect. (PLAYS 'MOONLIGHT SONATA' BY BEETHOVEN) (THUNDER) (THUNDER) NARRATOR: Back before the allegations that changed everything... (THUNDER) ..life for Craig McLachlan and his long-time partner, Vanessa Scammell, was perfect. (THUNDER) (THUNDER) MARK: What was your life like? What was your career like? (VANESSA LAUGHS WRYLY) VANESSA: A purple patch, I would say. (LAUGHS DRYLY) Purple patch. You were in a purple patch. I remember people saying, "Look at you." "You're doing 'Blake', you're doing 'Rocky'," "you're on 'Wrong girl', you're about to..." He was about to sign off another project, there were more plays coming in. I was conducting at the Opera House, our life was amazing. (SPIRITED CLASSICAL MUSIC) NARRATOR: Vanessa is a star in her own right. A brilliant conductor and musical director. Music is what first brought them together. The very first meeting I ever had with Craig was ` I was the musical director on a show, 'Chicago', and we were looking for a Billy Flynn and John Frost said, "Oh, look, I'm going to bring in Craig McLachlan." He'd just arrived back from overseas, I think. Of course I knew who he was, having grown up watching 'Neighbours'. ('NEIGHBOURS' THEME SONG PLAYS) VANESSA: But no, I didn't have his poster on my wall. No, nothing like that. (LAUGHS) And I remember him coming into the room and everyone sat up and thought, "Oh, who's this?" And he sang the role... # Pack of cards... ..and I remember the American director looking at me and just nodding, saying, "Yep, that's him." "That's him." And I agreed and I said, "Yes." And I remember by the time he'd left the room, he'd told all of us that he was in love with us. He told all of us how absolutely gorgeous we were, every man, woman, whoever, sitting on the panel. Not only the panel, you know, the people walking people in and out of the room, said he loved us all and left the room and we all just sort of went, "Oh, my god." It was like a bit of a whirlwind and I went, "Wow. That's something." (LAUGHS) And that was my first time I ever met Craig, yeah. (SINGING) VANESSA: We've been together for nearly a decade. (PLAYING DELICATE DUET) VANESSA: I'm a classical opera nerd and he's a rock 'n' roll coasty. (LAUGHS) You know, he reads rock magazines and I get 'Limelight'. (LAUGHS) So, it's been this real crossover of, you know, suddenly I know how to play the blues now, which I never did and he goes to opera. To a B minor. VANESSA: We appreciate music on any level, really. MARK: Is that what binds you? VANESSA: Yes. I would say yes. Yeah. A Dsus4. When Nessie and I got together, we both knew... this is it. (LAUGHS) Nice one. Yeah. Lovely duo. (LAUGHS) MARK: Is it the two of you? CRAIG: Yeah. Yeah. MARK: It's not one fire? It's the both of you? Yes. What does Vanessa mean to you, Craig? Oh, she's... You have to say something nice now. (LAUGHS) Ah... She's... She's everything to me. She's... You know, I could use all of the cliches that we know from the Hollywood movies and TV shows. She's my world, she's my everything, and she's all of that and more. But she really is all that and more. Ten years down the track and I'm still madly in love with her. MARK: Because the suggestion is that you weren't in love enough in 2014... ..and that you were after other people. And he knelt down in front of me, um, and then started saying along the lines of, you know, "You're really beautiful and I can't stop thinking about you" "and every day I'm becoming more and more enchanted by you" "and I'm falling for you" "and there's something that I've got to do." And he took me by the face and kissed me. CRAIG: The notion that I was in any way attracted to anyone, male or female, on the show in a sexual or romantic way is beyond nonsense. What's more, that cast, make no mistake, that cast saw Vanessa almost every day. It was no secret that we loved each other. I was in the theatre... (LAUGHS) Almost every day. ..daily. In Craig's dressing room. So, I was privy to all the visits from other cast members, the backstage culture. MARK: But you didn't notice a spark where Craig was perhaps more interested in someone other than you? (LAUGHS) Forgive us for laughing. Sorry for laughing. I didn't even see a mild flirtation. # Sweet transvestite... NARRATOR: The Rocky Horror Show's 2014 season wound up in Melbourne. Coincidentally, Vanessa was also in the city conducting for the Australian Ballet and whenever she had a spare moment, she would go and see Craig. VANESSA: I went to visit him 'cause we like each other. NARRATOR: But three years later, a number of female cast members would allege that around the time Vanessa was seeing him, Craig McLachlan was behaving inappropriately with them. MARK: Well, why would they do it? In the sense of no smoke without fire? No smoke without fire. Where there's smoke there's fire, and that something human beings say. Well, there was a fire. There was a fire... ..and we were all involved in the construction of that fire. We all had a stick in that fire, me included, and that fire was the backstage culture of that show. CRAIG: The fire that burned so brightly was the fire of shenanigans and consensual carry-on on that show. Yes, I mucked in with the rest of them, I tried to give as good as I got, make no mistake, and Vanessa was there, and you say, "She wasn't there all the time." Over the course of eight months, she witnessed a lot. I never behaved in a fashion that was disproportionate to what was going on around me. MARK: Didn't let the onstage part slip into the offstage part? That's like asking if I come home during a 'Doctor Blake' shoot, I walk around the district trying to solve murders. I don't mean to sound smart-arsey. VANESSA: No. No. MARK: So, for the doubters, I imagine one issue that you might have is that you look and sound really passionate and genuine but some people will say, "Well, he's an actor." "He's acting." (LAUGHS) And let's just turn it around and so are those women. PRODUCER: So, essentially, what's of most concern is the power imbalance in this situation. So, I think what has inhibited our action previously and what's concerned us the most now is his... No, it's not that. MAN: Hang on. Dogs out there barking. MAN: We could hear them. (BEEP) PRODUCER: We good? CAMERAMAN: We're rolling. What is it that stops women from complaining in these circumstances, do you think? I think in our case, it's their star power, it's their influence that makes us fearful, makes us feel as though our voices won't be heard. Short enough? WOMAN: Was that too... No, no? PRODUCER: Maybe even just something like... You know, "He's a big star. He has clout." You know, "We wouldn't be listened to." Or "We didn't think we'd be listened to." (BEEP) OK. MAN: OK. I guess we all felt that his star power and his influence was more valuable and more important than us. PRODUCER: Perfect. That's good. (SINGING) # Jingle bells # Jingle bells # Jingle all the way... NARRATOR: Just before Christmas, 2017, Craig McLachlan was still living his perfect life. # Merry Christmas... NARRATOR: In September that year, he'd been announced as the lead in a new production of 'The Rocky Horror Show'. But in October, 2017, two former cast members who'd both applied to work on the show got some bad news. None of the women were successful. You didn't even know they didn't like you. No idea. No idea that they hated me so much. And I don't think it's fair that he gets to go out there every night and... ..soak up... ..everything that he gets to soak up and have all these performers giving him all their energy so that he looks great. I went off on a bit of a tangent then. I'm sorry. No, you were absolutely... I get really fired up. That was absolutely brilliant. You were fantastic. Awesome. NARRATOR: Around the same time in the same month, the 'New York Times' broke the Harvey Weinstein story. REPORTER: Once one of the most powerful men in Hollywood. When the Harvey Weinstein story broke, I started to get anxiety. I was getting anxious. Anxious and unsettled, sleeplessness. NARRATOR: Some weeks after, journalists from the ABC and Fairfax began a joint investigation to find Australia's Weinstein. They began making calls... WOMAN: We're contacting everyone who played this role. ..and making promises. You know... NARRATOR: In or around December, 2017... CAMERAMAN: I'm rolling. ..they conducted interviews with three actresses who'd all worked with Craig McLachlan three years before on the 2014 Australian tour of 'The Rocky Horror Show'. Who's the next one? NARRATOR: During their discussions, talk turned to the timing of when the story should run, prompting this curious comment from a senior Fairfax journalist. WOMAN: The thing about the timing is that if we go Thursday, it just means that Friday is... No, Friday... So, we've got a couple of days then to do the follow-up because ultimately, we want him out of that job. WOMAN: Yeah. WOMAN: Really. NARRATOR: But throughout, Craig McLachlan was blissfully unaware. After their filming was all but complete, the ABC finally wrote to him. At 1:20 PM on January 4, 2018, McLachlan got their email asking for an interview by midday the next day. MARK: Alright, I'll be blunt. Do you think the timing was deliberate to give you little time to prepare a defence? Yes. Oh, please. Do you think the timing was deliberate to get you out of the job? Absolutely, without question. Because by that time, there was such a frenzy, such a frenzy of outrage against men... ..that he would not have been listened to by anybody and they knew damn well. NARRATOR: 'The 730 Report' would run their story on Monday, January 8, 2018. Craig and Vanessa were in separate cities. She was conducting at the Sydney Opera House, he was in Adelaide for 'The Rocky Horror Show'. On that Sunday the seventh, Nessie and I had an inkling that they were just going to run with the story anyway the following day. I remember standing on stage and this wall of noise with people cheering and fans of the show and fans of mine just going berserk. Rocky's back, we'd been up for a week or so, the reviews had been fantastic and everyone's having a good time and I remember standing there, going, "I'll never hear this again." NARRATOR: And that was the end of Craig McLachlan's perfect life. MARK: What happened to your life? The absolute demolition of it. Have you worked since? Have I worked? No. NARRATOR: Soon after, McLachlan sued for defamation ` a case that's still to be heard. Then on January 11, 2019, he would be charged and later face trial on a number of serious criminal offences. From megastar to alleged monster... Craig McLachlan's life changed in an instant. So, when the story first broke and I went shopping for my dear mum, a woman spotted me in the shop and called her two kids over and kind of shielded them. That (BLEEP) broke my heart. What? So, in the wording of that story and in how that story was produced for television, people are now equating me to some kind of dirty paedophile? The woman, I kid you not, I could name the supermarket and where it happened, she held and kind of looked at me as I walked past and I went out into the car after I paid for Mum's stuff and just sat in the car and burst into tears and I rang Nessa and said... "How am I going to survive this?" Seriously. Can you imagine that? You're a dad. Shielding her children from me. They knew exactly what they were doing, those journalists. They knew exactly what they were doing. Well, it was 'The Crucible'. You know? Judge, jury and executioner that day and the presumption of innocence in this country - gone. CRAIG: In this post-Weinstein hashtag-me-too world-gone-mad, I can't win. VANESSA: I made the choice to get him some help. I contemplated the unthinkable. On 'the will I, won't I' log. MARK: What's "Will I or won't I"? - People fly for all kinds of different reasons, like going to work, and going on leave. You fly for a hug... - Hi, Dad. - ...or a hug-shake? - Hey, that's my bag. - (MAKES ROBOTIC NOISES) - And to see your best friends. - (COOS EXCITEDLY) (DOGS BARK) - Everyone has a reason for flying, and our reason is you. * VANESSA: It's... It is actually hard to articulate the horror of what's happened to us. I can't put into words, every day, every night, I haven't slept for three years. You know, I still don't sleep. We're wide awake at two in the morning without fail. And that's... MARK: When did you last have a good night's sleep? Three and a half years ago. Before this... That would've been... Three and a half years ago... ..November. ..I reckon. Yeah. 2017. November, 2017. (SIGHS) Here we go. 12th of June, 2018. Another morning. Another day of... ..nothing. Nothing. This time last year, I was filming... ..and... ..and also... ..finalising scripts for what was called 'The Doctor Blake Mysteries'. And now, it's nothing, every day is nothing, nothing. Long-term unemployment has a profound effect on people and when I'm talking long term, I'm talking, you know, hard-working, decent folk who suddenly find themselves out of work for a few months. I've had three years of that, so that on its own brings about a plethora of... MARK: Well, let's go there. Because you've given me some footage of you, where you're sitting on a log and you call it the 'Will I or won't I' log. What's 'Will I or won't I'? Well, here I am. On the 'Will I, won't I' log. That's just a little log I sit on here in the middle of nowhere, thinking about... Will I or won't I? Six months... Six months and two days or six months and three days in... ..from the frenzied... ..reporting of the (BLEEP) allegations and (BLEEP). My work has been taken away from me. My show. My television show that I gave six years of my life to. Six years of my blood, sweat and tears and my love. CRAIG: I'm not afraid to talk about this because I'm hoping it will help people who have been in similar situations. I'm loath to talk about it on the other hand because I contemplated the unthinkable, and you do. The 'will I or won't I' log was a place on the shoreline of a waterway that had an extraordinary tidal flow... ..and I would sit there because really at that point, all you can think about is, "Nessie is going to be better off without me." "My family will be better off without me." I can't win. In this post-Weinstein hashtag-me-too world-gone-mad, I can't win. No one will listen to me. "We could compare Craig to Harvey Weinstein." Really? Really? Even though I've never forced people to do anything. I've certainly never forced sexual favours, I've never... ..locked anyone in a hotel room and told them to give me a handy otherwise I won't give them a job. It is (BLEEP) outrageous. Anyway, I'm ranting and I'm not really thinking about what I came here to think about. Which is will I or won't I? CRAIG: I would go down and just... ..think, and you do. You think, "My love ones will be better off without me." "I can't win." I'll write a long letter. And I'll point out that, you know, before the haters can jump in and say, well, he killed himself because he's guilty - no, no, no. I want the world to know what the media... ..media who... Hypothetically, imagine if I had evidence that indicated that the media manipulated people to say certain things to destroy me. Imagine, hypothetically, if I had that evidence. How do you think you as an individual, you're going to combat that (BLEEP)? You don't think you're ever going to win, so the best thing you can do is tidy things up, make sure Nessie and my son, my son's mum... ..family are looked after. And then I'll do what I have to do and it's all written here, so the 'will I, won't I' log... ..was where I would go and sit and see what the tide's doing and... MARK: How often would you do that? Too many times. MARK: Was it just something that played in your head or did you reach a point where you decided that "I've had enough."? I do not want to give these people anything to celebrate but yes, I did. What happened? Let's just say that I miscalculated... I made some miscalculations in weight... ..and how I attempted to deal with things, thankfully, as it turns out... (TAPS ON TABLE) ..didn't play out. I'm in a mental hospital. MARK: There's a vision that you provided of you in a mental hospital. How did that happen? Um... I can say. Can you? Yeah, good. Yeah. That's OK. Um... We were weeks out from the defamation trial which was meant to be run in February 2019... ..and we... Suddenly the police became active, the case that had been investigated for the past year, as the defamation case comes closer, they amp up the police investigation and we were told that there was a chance that Craig could be charged. I receive a phone call. (PHONE RINGING) "Vanessa, there's no easy way to tell you this." "Craig is being charged." "I hang up and Google Craig's name." "Boom. It's hit." "It's real." (SIGHS) "It's (BLEEP) real." "Craig is a mess." "A man who has never had a parking ticket or a speeding fine." "Of course he's a mess. Who wouldn't be?" "His eyes tell me he knows before I say anything." "'They've charged me, haven't they?'" MARK: And what were your concerns at that point about Craig? Oh, well, Craig's mental health was so... ..fragile anyway. There was no choice and I made the choice to... ..get him some help. MARK: And why did you feel that you had to do it? Because there was just not enough structure in our life to cope with that on top of everything else. What were your fears for him? Well, I was worried he was going to take his life. The main thing that I've tried to do, that we've tried to do is fight. Fight. Gloves are off. (GRUNTS LOUDLY) CRAIG: You actually get to a point where... And the ominous thunder in the background... (LAUGHS) ..as we talk about this, friends at home... (THUNDER) You actually get to a point, you know, there is still stuff to live for. Namely this one... ..and our family. Nessie's dad. # 'Cause I got a peaceful easy feeling # And I know you won't let me down... VANESSA: "Keep going, Craigy." "Keep going." That's Cliffy. CRAIG: Yeah. Couldn't do it without him. (LAUGHTER) And in the end, you've got to make the decision. There was a day where I just decided... I'm not having it. WOMAN: I trusted that nothing was going to happen and he kissed me and I couldn't back away. MARK: What did that mean for you? I was charged criminally for that kiss. * (OMINOUS MUSIC) (MEN MURMUR) ('I'M GOING HOME' FROM 'ROCKY HORROR) CRAIG: # On the day I went away. # (PEOPLE MURMUR) Mm-hm. VANESSA: First of all, there was an allegation made by one of the complainants that he kissed her onstage, unscripted. ('THE TIME WARP' FROM 'ROCKY HORROR) WOMAN: (BLEEP) was understudy for the character (BLEEP). When she was asked to step into the role, she told the director she didn't want to perform an unscripted passionate kiss with McLachlan, that he'd often improvised with the principal actress. WOMAN: I trusted that... ..nothing was going to happen, and he took full advantage of that. That really pissed me off. Had Craig kissed anybody on that stage prior to that? Yes. I... ..ran in, hugged. He grabbed me and kissed me. How many times? Well, I can't believe I know this, but we've... 130... ..times. So that was prior to that night? Yes. It was in... in the direction. So, I'm just gonna... ..hit this metronome. (PLAYS TUNING NOTE) (MUMBLES NOTES) Frank-N-Furter, the scene - he's saying goodbye to his friends. # Cards for sorrow # Cards for pain. # That's a chorus girl. # I've seen blue skies # Through the tears in my eyes... It's very tender. It's a little, brief, one-second peck. # And I realise # I'm going home # I'm going home # I'm going home. # And that kiss... That kiss. What did that mean for you? I was charged criminally for that kiss... ..that I performed over 130 times prior to that night. Criminally charged. (TENSE MUSIC) The kiss existed. (OMINOUS MUSIC) # In my eyes... One second. # And I realise... One second is all that it is between the sung lines. That's it. For the tongue kiss? For a kiss on the... One-second kiss to happen on the mouth. And he kissed me, and I couldn't back away until he let me go. So you were trapped, essentially? That's certainly how I felt, yes. The full cast are onstage, and their direction is to stare at Craig at that moment. He was holding me so I couldn't get away until he decided to let me go. (OMINOUS MUSIC) OK. MAN: That was great. Mm. Thank you. OK. (CHUCKLES) To the letter of the law, I could've gone to jail. Think about it. It's outrageous. Three years. A good life... ..gone because... # I've seen blue skies # With tears in my eyes # And I realise... # Charged criminally. You think about it. (METRONOME CLICKS) (STATIC BUZZES) Thanks for all being here. NARRATOR: In total, Craig McLachlan faced 13 charges. Thank you. Thank you. He was acquitted but not before Magistrate Belinda Wallington described the complainants as strong, credible and reliable... ..and found McLachlan overall not to be an impressive witness. The magistrate has made those comments, and that's serious, because it's the magistrate. Yes. It's very serious. Basically, we feel like she robbed the victory from us, that she took it from us and laid the boots in. Why would she do that? To make a point. Being? Look at the climate at the moment. You have to support and believe all women. Well, it's a pity that I wasn't able to get up on the stand and speak. People might sit there now and go, "Well, he's suddenly very silent." Because what can a man say? Really, in this climate,... Not much. ..what can a man say? An innocent man. 100% acquitted man. What can he say? Not much. (STATIC BUZZES) They were so damaging. They were damaging. The suggestion is damaging, that if the current law had have been in place, you would've been found guilty. Well, that's so interesting, because if he didn't do it, how could you be found guilty? (JOURNALISTS MURMUR) NARRATOR: Magistrate Wallington found that the complainants were brave and honest. To this day, McLachlan argues that he is an innocent man who has paid a heavy price. You know in Hollywood, they talk about, "He's got no priors." I had no priors. He's been abandoned by everybody. You might get some sense of why I was admitted into a mental health facility. The (BLEEP) I am guilty. (DRAMATIC MUSIC) * (PLAYS POIGNANT TUNE) NARRATOR: For many years, Craig McLachlan and one of the complainants were friends. They first worked together when she appeared in an Australian production of the musical 'Grease'. And she and Craig McLachlan hit it off. (UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYS) # Here's a story about a certain someone # Told me she loved me # As friends, we had so much fun # Yeah, we were naughty # There is no doubt. # In 2014, they worked together again on 'The Rocky Horror Show' and right up until the day of her bombshell interview on the '7:30 Report' in 2018. Craig McLachlan thought they were friends. CRAIG: About six weeks, if that, before the allegations were made, she ran out of a cafe on the corner of Macleay and Rockwall in Potts Point in Sydney. To think this girl runs out of the cafe and hugs us right there... # I remember that November day # She bounded out of a lone cafe # And said, "Hey... # "Oh, my god, it's so good to see you guys. "I really... Oh, I really miss you, Craig." Are you (BLEEP) kidding me? She ran out right there on those... ..pavers. # In six weeks' time, I'd be crucified and damned # Now we know what she had planned. # (OMINOUS MUSIC) Well, let's go to the other serious allegations from (BLEEP). She says that during the bed scene,... Sorry, do you mean our friend who texted us continually for the four years after 'The Rocky Horror Show'? You're referring to that individual? The friend that sent photos, the one I worked with for two years after 'The Rocky Horror Show'? You're referring to that girl? (OMINOUS MUSIC) MAN: Scene, take one. (LAUGHTER) NARRATOR: After 'The Rocky Horror Show', over the next few years, the two would stay in regular friendly contact. Welcome back to Gobbler and Blomkin. (LAUGHTER) So let's not lose sight of the fact that this girl actively maintained... VANESSA: And pursued. ..and pursued a friendship. Not only did we continue to work together,... ..we continued to work together and have... ..and I'm speaking for me... I had a great time with her as well. You know, we had a great time together in 2016 and an even better time... Sorry. It's alright. An even better time in 2017. And, you know, how long after Weinstein thing did this happen? Suddenly, I'm... Weeks. ..this monstrous, rogue... ..individual at 'Rocky Horror' who goes and grabs people on the vagina. Even as a 100% acquitted, innocent man, I feel I continue to be (BLEEP) over day after day after day... ..by our friend. And you might get some sense of why I was admitted into a mental health facility. And before the haters say, "Yeah, you were admitted because you were guilty, "the (BLEEP) I am guilty." OK. Have a little break. The (BLEEP) I am. Yeah. Cut. (BLEEP) people. I know. Look what they've done! When was the last time I just woke up in the morning and smiled? (DOOR SLAMS) He's been abandoned by everybody. Except for me and our close team. And I think, after three and a half years, after not being able to speak, the ability to actually let it out is just, um... Too much? Yeah, it's a bit much, so... He has no right to print this, Matthew! No right! WOMAN: Well, ultimately, we want him out of that job. How many people now do not have work? Hundreds. Hundreds. And over half of them women. Gone. (INDISTINCT CHATTER) - ANNOUNCER: Mia and Tane's wedding boarding Gate 9. - People fly for all kinds of different reasons, like going to work... and going on leave. You fly to see your best friends... - (COOS EXCITEDLY) (DOGS BARK) - ...or to speak a new language. - (WOMAN BABBLES) - You fly for something massive. - (MAN EXCLAIMS EXCITEDLY) - Where are you off to? - Business trip. - You fly for a hug... - Hi, Dad. - Hello. - ...a hug-shake? Or to see a familiar face. - I love your scarf. - No, your scarf. - I tell you what else you fly for ` - You fly for baby-moons, buddy-moons, and honeymoons. You fly for a new home. - (SPEAKS TE REO MAORI) - (SPEAKS TE REO MAORI) - Hey, that's my bag. - (MAKES ROBOTIC NOISES) - You fly to say... - Missed you. - ...or... - BOTH: Kia ora. - Hello! How are you? - (EXHALES) We fly to reconnect... - You're it. - ...or to relive. (UPLIFTING MUSIC) - Everyone has a reason for flying, and our reason is you. * The word came down from up on high. "I don't care how. You just get this guy. "Keep this chat on the quiet." The vultures and the jackals all cry for more. And the scribes, they believe they are the law. To crucify someone, make them bleed. (GUITAR MUSIC) # The word came down from up on high # "I don't care how. You just get this guy." # NARRATOR: Writing music has been a way for Craig McLachlan to channel many emotions about the case and the journalists whose stories wrote him out of work and nearly into jail. # Well, he gathered his strength # And focused his sights # Readied for the fight of his life # With a soldier's determination. # WOMAN: I just think it's important that we indicate in the story that it wasn't an isolated incident with you three, because then there's suggestion that, "You know what... # And the scribes, they believe they are the law # Nah, nah, nah Because, ultimately,... WOMAN: Yeah. Really. # Nah, nah, nah, nah # Nah, nah, nah, nah # Nah, nah. # MAN: Well, very early in the piece, I'm aware of a conversation that one of the journalists says, "What we want to see is him out of a job." VANESSA: Mm. Because, ultimately, we want him out of that job. Out of that job. I'm not sure... ..who you've spoken to or what you've seen, but... They'd made up their mind. So, they'd made up their mind. On what planet is that acceptable? Seriously. That's not OK. And right now, as we sit here chatting today, this can happen to anyone. (BLEEP) needs to change. Because right now, you at home, you can be named, shamed, blamed for (BLEEP) you did not do. And by the time the system kicks in... ..and does whatever it does, it's too late. Too late. (PLAYS 'FOXY LADY' BY JIMI HENDRIX) # My Nessa is a cute little heartbreaker # Foxy # And you know you're a cute little lovemaker # Foxy Craig McLachlan has been out of a job since the day the story broke. # I won't do you no harm. # He stepped down from 'The Rocky Horror Show'. And soon after, production was stopped on one of Australia's most successful dramas,... 'The Doctor Blake Mysteries'. He has no right to print this, Matthew! No right! Just calm down. I am calm! MAN: How many people now do not have work because that series was cancelled because of what's happened? Hundreds. Hundreds. Years of work. And over half of them women. Gone. (SIGHS) But we all deserve a second chance, Lucien. (GENTLE MUSIC) I'm walking along South Bank in Brisbane. And today I'm just determined it's gonna be a better day. NARRATOR: Vanessa continued to work,... ..but for a long time while she was away on tour conducting,... (MOMENTOUS MUSIC PLAYS) ..Craig went into hiding. (APPLAUSE) Let me show you where I live these days for some of the year. He spent months living in a shipping container on her brother's property, away from everybody and everything. See the bed there? There's an en suite and dunny down the end. Even a heater. And it's pretty good. (CLICKS TONGUE) A tame rabbit often his only company. You're a lovely boy. But the thoughts of his stratospheric fall... (CHUCKLES) Someone said... "Craig's career's on life support." No, it's dead. And the multimillion-dollar cost of clearing his name in a defamation case and criminal trial were never far away from his mind... ..or Vanessa's. MAN: What has it cost you financially? Everything. Everything? Yes. (DRAMATIC MUSIC) I've never been as afraid in my life. You look pretty wretched, the both of you. It was the worst day of my life. Did you feel there was a possibility you might be found guilty? Oh, (BLEEP) yes. How scared were you? Oh, I was terrified. We have a lot to say. We won. - I was seven months' pregnant, and I contracted COVID at a tangi. We spent 34 days in isolation. I couldn't breathe well on my own. I ended up contracting COVID pneumonia. I was the first hapu mama in Jet Park. It was really terrifying for us. I don't want other whanau to have to go through what I've been through. If there's a way that that can be prevented, I would 100% take it. (INDISTINCT CHATTER) - ANNOUNCER: Mia and Tane's wedding boarding Gate 9. - People fly for all kinds of different reasons, like going to work... and going on leave. You fly to speak a new language... - (WOMAN BABBLES) - ...or for something massive. - (MAN EXCLAIMS EXCITEDLY) - You fly for a new home. - (SPEAKS TE REO MAORI) - (SPEAKS TE REO MAORI) - You fly to say... - Missed you. - ...or... - BOTH: Kia ora. - Hello! How are you? - (EXHALES) We fly to reconnect... - You're it. - ...or to relive. (UPLIFTING MUSIC) - Everyone has a reason for flying, and our reason is you. * VANESSA: I had said to myself, for every day, in my mantras, that he would be found not guilty,... ..but I've never been as afraid in my life. # Mm # I'm feelin' bad # I'm feelin' hurt # I'm feelin' scared # I'm feelin' burned # How is this in my head? NARRATOR: On the 15th of December last year, Craig McLachlan faced his judgement day. In Melbourne, Magistrate Belinda Wallington would decide his guilt or innocence on multiple charges. (TENSE MUSIC) Because of COVID restrictions, Craig and Vanessa watched via video link from his lawyer's chambers in Sydney. MAN: You looked pretty wretched, the both of you, on that video. We were wretched. It was the worst day of my life. Did you feel there was a possibility you might be found guilty? Oh, (BLEEP) yes. How scared were you? I was terrified. # And in the struggle I can find the glory # 'Cause I got you by my side. # What did you do as each of the charges was read out? I had them listed on a piece of paper. This is the paper? Yeah. And one by one, they went down, and I kept writing, "Not guilty, not guilty, not guilty." How many times did you write that? 13. 13 charges? 13 "not guilty"? 13 "not guilty". # I've always been a fighter The relief - it's beyond palpable. It's beyond... I'm actually going through it as we talk about it. ..now, yeah. You're shaking... Your body's shaking. Just, you know, literally like this. Nessie and I aren't going to speak in any detail today. We will certainly do so in the immediate new year. We have a lot to say. 'It's strangely not about you in that moment.' I'm speaking for me now. It was about my beautiful Nessie. Mm. You have to forgive me for getting emotional... No, it's OK. No, it's allowed. ..here, because... Yeah, I know. It's been awful. You know, you talk about going to hell and back at the hands of someone who sold themselves as your friend. You know... But, bizarrely, it doesn't become about you. It becomes about the woman who stood by you. (REFLECTIVE MUSIC) Craig and Nessie would celebrate that night with family, friends and their legal team. But one person was missing. I've just been shopping for Nessie's dad and I. On the day 'The 7:30 Report' first broadcast the allegations, Vanessa's mother, Patty, was diagnosed with an aggressive and incurable cancer. He went and collected Patty's ashes today. (SIGHS) I... (BLEEP). (CROWS CAW) ('MOONLIGHT SONATA' BY BEETHOVEN) I have seen the worst of life. There's no question that I have seen the worst of life and the worst of people. But it has made me a stronger person. My parents, who instilled in me such a sense of what is right,... ..has held me up. What was that sense? What did they tell you about right and wrong? "Be good to people. Treat people well. Be kind. "But stand up for yourself when things aren't right." So... ('MOONLIGHT SONATA' BY BEETHOVEN) (CHUCKLES) It's for Mum. Yeah. Poor Mum. Yeah. She didn't get to see him cleared, did she? No. No. Can't bring her back to say, "It's OK, we did it." In a courtroom, the legal standard is up here, and so to be able to write, "Not guilty, not guilty, not guilty, "not guilty, not guilty, not guilty, not guilty..." I've run out of... 13 times was, honestly, the... the greatest day in my life. What did you feel at that moment? The last "not guilty". Oh... That three years of abject hell - that justice had been served, and that that abject hell had finally closed. We won. (PLAYS FINAL NOTES) (COUNTRY MUSIC) We're definitely moving forward - little... little steps. (AMERICAN ACCENT) Hot dang! That boy can play. Folks, I'm available for ironing. I knew somehow we'd get through this. Your muscled-up ironing boy. (LAUGHS) * (OMINOUS MUSIC) VANESSA: I just can't wait to not talk about it. (CHUCKLES) I can't wait to move on. But our biggest thing is for the public to know I was there. I'm a woman. Believe me. And that... Craig is not the person that the media and certain people decided to depict as being some sort of pin-up boy for the Me Too movement. (REFLECTIVE MUSIC) (THUNDER BOOMS) This is pretty amazing therapy. You know what I mean? (BRIGHT MUSIC) There's just something wonderfully cleansing about it, and... You know, I love it. (PLAYS COUNTRY TUNE) # You are my sunshine # My only sunshine # You make me happy # When skies are grey # You'll never know, dear # How much I love you (LAUGHS) # Please don't take... # Oh, my goodness. These are the letters and things that we've been... ..sent over the last few years. These are birthday cards. So many people... NARRATOR: Craig McLachlan is not without his support. From Canada to South Africa... Hungary. Hungary, remember? Yeah. We've got those lovely ladies in Hungary. Yeah. Oh, my gosh. There's still more. "I'm wishing you every happiness." It's overwhelming to see it. I know. It's unbelievable. It's quite overwhelming. Yeah. Cup of tea? (CHUCKLES) (CHUCKLES) Yeah, I think so. Whack the kettle on. Cup of tea. Come on. Yeah. But what he has been missing for the last three years is a job. I'm available for ironing, folks. Just give me a yell. We'll put a superimposed phone number at the top. (LAUGHS) Don't look at the back of the shirt, 'cause it's not gonna be in the (MUFFLED SWEARING) photo. It's just... We're only worried about the front. What am I gonna do with him? At the end of our filming, that changed... Just so that you're not shiny. (LAUGHS) I knew somehow we'd get through this, and that we would be able to start again. ..when Craig McLachlan received an offer to perform a one-man show about the American country music legend Hank Williams in South Australia later this year. We're definitely moving forward - little steps. (AMERICAN ACCENT) Hot dang! That boy can play. It may not be the heights he was used to, but it's no longer the depths he has been to. MAN: It's the first time in a while we've seen you smile. In the last, you know, day, we've seen you guys happy. Yeah. So, is there a bit of a turnaround coming? Yes. As my dad would say, "Too right, Ness." Yeah, too... (LAUGHS) Too right, Ness. "Too right, Craigy." (LAUGHS) Too right. (CHUCKLES) Yeah, there is. (REFLECTIVE MUSIC) (UKULELE MUSIC) # Good times coming my way # Now, I know that's easy to say # Feel it deep inside BOTH: # It's alright # Everything's alright # It's alright (CHUCKLES) # It's alright. # Come here. (CHUCKLES)