Getty Images/Ron Galella(LOS ANGELES) — Scott Baio posted a heartfelt goodbye to his Happy Days co-star Erin Moran after her death over the weekend, but was then attacked online for doing a radio interview in which he seemed to blame drugs for her death. In fact, she died of cancer, and now, he’s defending himself.
During the interview, Baio said, “I’m…not completely shocked that this happened,” he said during the interview. “…For me, you do drugs or drink, you’re gonna die.”
Writing on Facebook, Baio explained, “I was asked ONLY about Erin’s troubled past due to drug & alcohol abuse. I was still upset and said I felt that living that kind of a lifestyle will catch up with you and nothing good would come of it. THIS WAS BEFORE THE CAUSE OF DEATH WAS ANNOUNCED…”
He added, “Now it seems every news outlet & tabloid wants to paint a different picture of me…They’re stating that I’m saying drugs caused her to die after it was reported stage 4 cancer. This is so wrong! Now I truly understand the meaning of ‘Fake News.'”
Baio also says he believes some of the backlash is due to him being a Trump supporter.
On Tuesday, Baio posted a message from Moran’s widower Steve Fleischmann, who’d asked the actor to pass along the information for him. In the message, he detailed how quickly the disease killed her.
“She was feeling fine on our anniversary [last November],” wrote Felischman. However, she subsequently went from finding a spot of blood on her pillow to being diagnosed with cancer less than a month later.
On April 22nd, Fleischmann recalled, “she was not feeling 100%.” He said he watched TV with her in bed while holding her hand. When he woke up an hour later, he says, “she was gone.”
Copyright © 2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
