Corey Feldman: Pedophilia In Hollywood Growing Even More Rampant

Following Lord of the Ring‘s star Elijah Wood‘s alarming comments about the powerful pedophilia ring operating in Hollywood, The Hollywood Reporter spoke with former child actor Corey Feldman about similar allegations he’s made in the past. Feldman told THR that not only is pedophilia rampant in the industry, it’s getting worse.

The Goonies and Lost Boys star has been one of the most vocal celebrities on the problem of sexual predators in the movie industry, openly discussing it in various interviews, his memoir Coreyography, and his A&E reality series, The Two Coreys. Feldman claims to have personally been sexually abused by men and partly blames the downfall of his deceased best friend, fellow child star Corey Haim, on being raped by a man on a movie set at age 11.

“[Corey Haim] had more direct abuse than I did,” Feldman told THR. “With me, there were some molestations and it did come from several hands, so to speak, but with Corey, his was direct rape, whereas mine was not actual rape. And his also occurred when he was 11.”

Asked if he knew who were the perpetrators, Feldman responded, “Let’s just say it this way: I know every single person that interfered with his life and he knew every person that interfered with mine.” Feldman said that while he would “love to name names,” California’s statute of limitations prevents him from doing so.

“People are frustrated, people are angry, they want to know how is this happening and they want answers and they turn to me and they say, ‘Why don’t you be a man and stand up and name names and stop hiding and being a coward?'” said Feldman. “I have to deal with that, which is not pleasant, especially given the fact that I would love to name names. I’d love to be the first to do it. But unfortunately California conveniently enough has a statute of limitations that prevents that from happening. Because if I were to go and mention anybody’s name I would be the one that would be in legal problems and I’m the one that would be sued. We should be talking to the district attorneys and the lawmakers in California, especially because this is where the entertainment industry is and this is a place where adults have more direct and inappropriate connection with children than probably anywhere else in the world.”

Asked if he agreed that there is a “pedophilia ring” that promotes and protects the practice, Feldman said he thinks so.

“I believe that Haim’s rapist was probably connected to something bigger and that is probably how he has remained protected for all these years,” he said. “This person uses intimidation and threats as a way to keep people quiet. And all these men were all friends. Ask anybody in our group of kids at that time: They were passing us back and forth to each other. [Alison Arngrim] from Little House on the Prairie said [in an interview], “Everybody knew that the two Coreys were just being passed around.” Like it was something people joked about on studio lots. We’re not talking about huge executives and directors that I am aware of that were involved in this. The people that I knew doing it were publicists, they were photographers for teen magazines, things like that.”

Despite the increased attention on the issue in recent years, including the release of the disturbing documentary An Open Secret, Feldman said he thinks that with social media and the ability to “create fake profiles and fake accounts,” pedophilia in Hollywood is “a growing problem, not a shrinking problem.”

Read the full interview here.