Stephen Collins not returning to ‘Scandal’ following child molestation accusations

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While Scandal’s storylines often echo the show’s provocative title, a recent real-life scandal involving one of the show’s actors has been an unwelcome distraction for the hit political thriller.

Actor Stephen Collins, who portrayed reporter Reed Wallace as a guest star in the Season 2 episode “Happy Birthday, Mr. President,” was slated to reprise the role in an upcoming episode.

Collins announced his return to the show with a tweet on September 23:

The 67-year old actor is being investigated for possible child molestation. The investigation stems from a recently obtained audio recording of a 2012 therapy session in which Collins admits to molesting and exposing himself to young girls ranging from 10 to 13.

A day after news of Collins’ alleged acts became public, ABC issued a written statement in which the network wrote, “We can confirm that we will not be airing any footage with Stephen Collins,” according to the Huffington Post. His footage and appearance in the episode has been cut.

Collins, who was also slated for a minor role in the upcoming film Ted 2, was fired from that production as well after reports broke that he was being investigated by the NYPD.

The former 7^th Heaven star, who portrayed Rev. Eric Camden in 243 episodes of the long-running WB/CW drama, was briefly rumored to have shot himself on Tuesday night, after neighbors thought they heard a gunshot from his Los Angeles home. The rumor gained further traction following a since-deleted tweet from actress Donna D’errico that stated, “That guy from 7th Heaven lives right around the corner from me & just shot himself a few minutes ago.”

Police, however, confirmed that the actor was still alive. Collins, who has also appeared in films such as Blood Diamond and The First Wives Club, resigned as a board member of the Screen Actors Guild after the audio recording was released on Tuesday.

Despite the allegations, it is uncertain whether — even if the charges are proven — Collins will face criminal punishment, as the statute of limitations on at least some of the alleged cases is believed to have expired.