Back in the 1980s, Erin Moran and Scott Baio weren’t just a couple onscreen, but they were together offscreen as well, having dated during their time as co-stars on Happy Days and Joanie Loves Chachi . But since Baio cut a controversial injury suggesting that his onetime girlfriend and co-star may have died last week as a consequence of drug and alcohol abuse, he has received flak from scores of fans and social media users. Now, it would seem that the 56-year-old former teen idol is also facing the wrath of Moran’s family, most notably her older brother, actor and producer Tony Moran.
On Tuesday, Tony Moran took to Facebook to become the latest person to call out Baio for what many felt was his insinuation that Erin’s cause of death was related to her substance abuse. According to TMZ , Tony’s Facebook post “ got nasty ,” as it referred to the specifics of Erin Moran and Scott Baio’s relationship, and what supposedly led Erin to dump Scott after that short period of dating.
“A special shout to Scott Baio. I already went on Twitter about you. I hope it finds you. You and my lil sis had a very very brief fling. She dumped you. 2 reasons. 1. She told me that you were more like a lil girl and not a man. 2. She told me that you were tiny. Ya know. Barely a man in the man region. True story! Scott, I’d advise you to get on your knees and pray you never run into me.”
Tony Moran (“Michael Myers” from Halloween) to attend upcoming Steel City Comic Con – special Horror Show! https://t.co/LisAU0riuS pic.twitter.com/5s2cnnwkI4
— Steel City Con (@Steelcitycon) April 24, 2017
Raw Story cited another angry social media response to Baio’s earlier remarks, this time coming from Erin Moran’s cousin Roy, who sent off the following tweet on Tuesday night, suggesting that Scott should have thought of what to say first before making those comments.
“regardless of cause. that d*** head should have handled it way different. now he needs to get handled. rip cousin”
The source of the furor was an interview Baio cut on Monday with WABC, where he made references to what he saw as poor life choices on Erin Moran’s part. The Scott Baio interview, according to Variety , suggested that he wasn’t sure about Erin’s cause of death at the time, but described her as an “insecure human being” who “fell into this world of drugs and alcohol.”
“I’m sure it was a culmination of years and years of doing it that might have had something to do with it. She just never found her way.”
Less than a year @ScottBaio has lost Garry Marshall, his mother, & Erin. He & our child have been assaulted & had death threats. Enough!
— Renee Baio (@MrsScottBaio) April 25, 2017
In his defense, Baio said in a Facebook post Tuesday that he feels as if media has misquoted him as having pinned Erin Moran’s cause of death down to drug use. He said that he sees himself as a “compassionate” person and stressed that he still feels heartbroken by his ex-girlfriend’s loss, especially now that it’s been confirmed that she lost her quiet battle with cancer. Raw Story also cited another social media post from Baio, where he said that he feels people are attacking him for his remarks because of his conservative, pro-Donald Trump political leanings.
Meanwhile, Tony Moran’s onslaught on Scott Baio has continued, according to Raw Story . In a subsequent Facebook post, Tony referred to Scott as a “f***ing coward” who had to ask his wife, Renee, to speak on his behalf and apologize to him, and a “scumbag” even in his younger days when he and Erin Moran were still dating.
“His wife! F***ing coward! I’ve never met her. I do know the scumbag piece of s**t Scott Baio tho. He was a piece of s**t back then and still is. He had his wife contact me!”
Aside from defending his earlier comments about ex-flame Erin Moran, Scott Baio also posted an “ open letter ” from Erin’s husband, Steve Fleischmann, who discussed how his wife discovered that she had cancer late last year. According to Fleischmann’s post, which was shared on Baio’s Facebook page yesterday, media has been “relentless” in trying to contact him for a statement, hence his decision to write the letter and set the record straight.
[Featured Image by Drew Angerer/Getty Images]