Former Fries Museum director Kris Callens accused of sexual misconduct by ten women
Saturday, 15 March 2025 - 11:20
Ten women have accused former Fries Museum director Kris Callens of sexual misconduct during his decade-long tenure at the museum, according to a report by the Leeuwarder Courant. The allegations come from both museum employees and individuals from the broader cultural sector who were not directly affiliated with the institution.
Several employees reportedly filed complaints about Callens' conduct over the years. One source told Omrop Fryslân that the allegations include "verbal matters and behaviors" that have persisted for several years and indicate a pattern. The same source claimed that Callens’ behavior had an impact across the entire organization.
Why did it take so many years for the Museum to respond? That's pathetic!
The official reason given for Callens’ departure was the museum’s financial difficulties. In January, when his departure was announced, supervisory board chairman Hayo Apotheker stated: "In 2025, we are facing a challenging agenda that calls for innovative leadership."
Perhaps the board needs some new members who are not afraid to speak the truth.
Winston Churchill’s grandson reveals he was abused at prep school
CBI chair Rupert Soames tells podcast he is ‘completely unembarrassed’ about abuse that occurred in early life
Winston Churchill’s grandson has revealed he was abused as a child while boarding at a prep school by “some masters who had an entirely unhealthy appetite for young boys”.
The businessman, who has led big companies including the outsourcing firm Serco, revealed he was abused while at prep school between the ages of seven and 12, but said “nothing bad ever happened” when he later attended Eton College. He told the podcast he had a “very privileged upbringing” and a “generally fabulous education”.
“I was sent to boarding school at seven … and it had some of the sins of boarding schools, including some masters who had an entirely unhealthy appetite for young boys,” he said.
“So it wasn’t completely plain sailing from that point of view, and the only reason why I mentioned it [is] because I was subject to some very poor behaviour.”
He confirmed he was abused, adding: “There’s nothing to be sorry about it. It happened, but the only reason I bring it up is because I’m completely unembarrassed about it.
“Many, many worse things have happened to many people but I think that it was maybe part of helping me learn behaviours and coping mechanisms which proved to be useful in later life.
“The idea that hiding things and not talking about them is a really bad idea, letting things become a sort of sepsis in your brain.”
Soames said the abuse had been “confronted” and one of the schoolmasters was sent to prison. He also said his parents were aware but he “never felt remotely abandoned or unloved, or anything like that”.
There was a school of thought that believed that high society boys in the UK had to endure sexual abuse as children to prepare them for manhood. Soames seems to be of that school.
Speaking of his empathy for other victims of child sexual abuse, he said: “And when I watch some of these inquiries into historical allegations of sex abuse at schools or whatever, my heart goes out to the people who in their 40s and 50s are still harbouring truths that go back late into their lives and have probably never talked about it.
“And I can only imagine the pain that you get from that if you’ve never talked about it, if it has been allowed to grow as an incubus inside your brain, and then suddenly age 40 or 50 it comes out. I mean, it must be horrific.”
He added that being able to speak openly about his experience had helped him gain resilience. “I don’t want to make a big thing about it,” he continued. “It’s not been a huge thing in my daily life.”
Soames, a brother of the former Conservative minister Nicholas Soames, started his career at General Electric and spent 11 years at the temporary power supply company Aggreko before leading Serco for nine years.
He was named president of the CBI in December 2023, and tasked with steadying the ship after the Guardian revealed allegations of sexual misconduct that Soames said had tipped the organisation into a “near-death experience”.
7th Heaven’s Stephen Collins Is Dating Woman 40 Years Younger Than Him After Child Sex Abuse Scandal
A documentary about Stephen Collins‘ child sexual abuse scandal revealed he is currently dating 7th Heaven “superfan” Jenny Nagel who is 40 years younger than him.
Investigation Discovery’s Hollywood Demons special, which premieres Monday, March 24, features an update on where Collins, 77, is now after leaving Hollywood in disgrace.
Dr. Drew speculated on Collins’ relationship with Nagel, 37, adding, “The age difference — given what we know about his history — certainly raises an eyebrow. Let’s hope he can commit to this woman and not perpetrate on others.”
Collins did not participate in the ID special and producers reached out to “more than 100 contacts” of Collins’ and “nearly everyone declined to participate or did not respond.” (A producer in a voiceover claimed that only men agreed to speak with them about their experience with Collins.)
After his acting career came to an end, Collins was spotted on multiple occasions with Nagel, in Fairfield, Iowa, where they currently live. The couple, who the Daily Mail claimed got married in 2019, have been spotted attending twice-daily transcendental meditation sessions. The outlet also reported that Nagel posted about Collins’ hit show 7th Heaven years before they got together.
The actor became a household name after booking the role of Reverend Eric Camden on 7th Heaven, which ran from 1996 to 2007. Collins made headlines seven years after 7th Heaven ended when TMZ published an audio recording from a marriage counseling session with his then-wife, actress Faye Grant, where he admitted to sexually abusing three underage girls.
“I’m a flawed person,” Collins said in an interview with Katie Couric at the time. “In the church, it’s actually one of the things I love about the church … It’s really one of the main things about the Christian faith. Christ said in so many ways, ‘Bring me that … which about you is broken, bring it,’ and most people are broken in some way.”
Collins denied he was a “pedophile” before adding, “Most people get to, or have to, or choose to hide it. This came out. I didn’t choose this to come out. I didn’t want to have to deal with these things publicly. … I had dealt with them very, very strongly, and committedly, in my private life, but I think I’m a human being with flaws and I’ve done everything I can to address it.”
An investigation was launched in 2012 into the claims against Collins. A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department later released a statement confirming they could not “substantiate the allegation” against Collins and no charges were brought against him.
Despite the 7th Heaven cast — including Jessica Biel and Beverley Mitchell — reuniting over the years, they haven’t been spotted with Collins. Catherine Hicks, who played his onscreen wife Annie, previously didn’t rule out a 7th Heaven reunion — under one condition.
“We would have to open with Stephen’s coffin,” she joked to TMZ in 2016. “It’s all up to the networks and those types of things. I think we’d all love to be together. 8th Heaven with a new boyfriend for Annie.”
Creator Brenda Hampton addressed Hicks’ comments about a reunion, telling Life & Style in 2017, “I would include him. I think all the actors would like to do a reunion show. It would be really fun!”
She continued: “I think Catherine was caught off guard and said something off the top of her head. [The scandal] is so personal, [it’s] none of my business.”
No comments:
Post a Comment