Stephen Collins was fired from the upcoming comedy "Ted 2" after a taped confession leaked on Tuesday in which the 67-year-old actor allegedly confessed to molesting three young girls, a source told TMZ.
Almost immediately after the story broke, producers decided to remove Collins' scenes from the film.
Reportedly, he only had a minor role in the "Ted" sequel. In addition to being fired, E! News claims that Collins also resigned from the National Board of the Screen Actors Guild. On top of that, a rep for TV Guide Network told TMZ that they were yanking re-runs of "7th Heaven." Collins played Reverend Eric Camden for 11 seasons on the show.
Early Tuesday morning (Oct. 7), TMZ released audio that was secretly taped by Collins' estranged wife, Faye Grant, during a 2012 therapy session. Reportedly, Grant was urged to record the session so she could gather more evidence for a possible felony against the actor. According to TMZ, molestation of a child under 14 constitutes as a felony.
In the audio, Collins allegedly admitted that he molested and/or exposed himself to several girls, the youngest being 11-years-old.
"There was one moment of touching where her hand, I put her hand on my penis," Collins whispered to his wife, unaware that he was being recorded.
According to TMZ, one of the alleged victims was a relative to Collins' first wife. In a statement to E! News, Grant said she was not behind the audio getting leaked to the media.
"I woke up today to learn that an extremely private recording I handed over to authorities in 2012 per their request in connection with a criminal investigation was recently disseminated to the press. I had no involvement whatsoever with the release of the tape to the media," she said.
Collins has yet to respond to the allegations, and he is reportedly being investigated by the New York Police Department.
