6 days ago
Craig McLachlan's quiet life as a pub performer revealed - after he was 'cancelled' despite being acquitted of assault charges
Craig McLachlan is continuing to pursue a career in the limelight after his high-profile sexual harassment court case saw him 'cancelled' for years.
The former Neighbours star, 59, was handed a $500,000 payout in 2023 after he was acquitted of assault charges.
Now the actor and musician is on the road again, presenting a solo show called Six String Stories, which combines music and a spoken word performance.
But instead of playing major centres, the one-time household name has been playing gigs in regional Queensland and NSW over the last four weeks.
On Monday, he announced on Instagram that he has added another performance to his dates in Victoria.
In November, McLachlan will head to the tiny Gippsland town of Yarram - population 2,135 - which happens to be the hometown of his partner Vanessa Scammell.
'Beautiful people, the moment we've all been waiting for! Six String Stories is officially heading to the very special town of Yarram - and this one is going to be absolutely magical!' he gushed.
The gig will take place in the 700-seat Yarram Regent Theatre on November 8.
McLachlan continued in the post: 'This means everything to us because Yarram is where my beautiful Ness grew up - it's her hometown, her roots, the place that shaped her!
'There's something incredibly special about performing where it all began for her, surrounded by the community that helped make her who she is.
'We're bringing EVERY story, every song, every secret to the place that feels like home.
'Yarram, get ready for the most heartfelt Six String Stories yet - we're bringing all the love, all the laughs, and probably a few happy tears!'
He included a tour poster in the share, which features photos from different phases in the star's career.
It was in a 2014 Melbourne production of a famed stage hit that saw the actor charged with assault and indecent assault over complaints from female co-stars.
He strongly denied the allegations against him.
Magistrate Belinda Wallington found him not guilty of 13 charges following a four-week contested hearing in the Victorian Melbourne Magistrates Court in December 2020.
In her 105-page judgement, the magistrate said she found the incidents to have happened - but that McLachlan believed he had consent.
She said it was his 'egotistical, self-entitled sense of humour' that led him to believe others would either not mind or find his behaviour funny, and ordered Victoria Police to cover his legal fees.
He was tried under old consent laws because the alleged crimes occurred before they were changed.
Victorian laws were updated in 2015 to make a defendant guilty of sexual or indecent assault if their incorrect belief that they had consent was 'unreasonable'.
McLachlan, by contrast, had to prove he believed he had consent, regardless of whether his belief was unreasonable.
Magistrate Wallington said in her judgement: 'I cannot dismiss the reasonable possibility that in his egocentric state of mind, amongst some amount of adulation from sections of the cast and management, in combination with a lack of checks and balances on his lewd behaviour, that he was not aware of [the complainant's] lack of consent.'
Of another charge she said: 'I am unable to exclude the possibility that an egotistical, self-entitled sense of humour led the accused to genuinely think that [the complainant] was consenting to his actions.'
Magistrate Wallington, on several occasions, said she found the complainants to be 'credible' and that she 'accepted [their] evidence in full'.
She also pointed out that her judgement would likely be different had the case been tried under the post-2015 laws.
McLachlan admitted he was unlikely to ever find it in his heart to forgive the former co-stars who accused him of sexual harassment and assault and that he still blames them for 'ruining' his life.
'Here's the thing: hate is a poisonous thing. You have to get rid of the hate – and I've done that,' he told Daily Mail in 2024.
'Forgiveness is a different story. That's hard s**t to do.'
McLachlan said he had 'fallen out of love' with show business after his 'public crucifixion'.
The one-time Neighbours star has been a fixture of the Australian entertainment industry for more than three decades before his career collapsed over the scandal.
McLachlan has kept a low profile in recent years, but appeared on the reality series, SAS Australia, in 2023.
He lives with his devoted partner - pianist Vanessa Scammell, and the pair also perform together.
