Comedic actress Molly Shannon shared surprising details regarding her encounter with the late Gary Coleman.
According to People Magazine, Shannon appeared on The Howard Stern Show on Tuesday, claiming that Coleman sexually harassed her while meeting for the first time years ago. She also recalled the incident in her new book, “Hello Molly!”
The 57-year-old said she had just signed with Coleman’s agent and was invited to the Different Strokes star’s penthouse hotel room. However, Shannon said Coleman’s attitude changed after their agent left the room.
“I think he was like, ‘Sit down [on the bed].’ It was very sweet,” she recalled. “And then he’s, like, tickling me a little. This and that.”
The former SNL cast member explained that she was “trying to be polite” to Coleman since she was young and “a virgin” at the time of the incident.
“He was relentless,” Shannon told Stern.
“Then, he was like trying to kiss me and get on top, and I was like, ‘No, Gary. Stop.’ So, I push him off. Then, I would get off the bed. Then, he would bounce on the bed. Jump, jump, jump. And wrap himself around me. Then, I would fling him off. And then he got on top of me. I guess because of his size. I didn’t feel physically threatened. But … it was going on and on. Repeating. I would throw him off. He would get back on.”
She continued, “And then finally, I throw him off. I was really getting out of breath because it was athletic and aerobic. He grabs me onto my leg, and I was like [trying to] kick him off. And then, I go lock myself in the bathroom and then he sticks his hands under the door. And he’s like, ‘I can see you.'”
Shannon noted that she eventually “sprinted out” of the room while admitting she should have stood up for herself.
Coleman suffered several health problems before he died in 2010 at age 42.
Watch the full interview with Shannon on the show below.
