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Corey Feldman is one of many former child stars who went into a downward spiral -- and now, he's offered a disturbing insight into why that may be. In an interview for Wednesday's "Child Stars: Where Are They Now?" episode of ABC's Nightline, Feldman, 40, claims that Hollywood has a secret epidemic of pedophilia. Feldman says he was molested as a teenager -- and he blames the death of his late friend Corey Haim on the trauma of childhood sexual abuse. Watch the shocking segment below.
"The number one problem in Hollywood was, is and always will be pedophilia," says the Lost Boys actor. "That's the biggest problem for children in this industry. It's all done under the radar. It's the big secret."
Feldman says that pedophiles surrounded him "like vultures" when he was an '80s teen heartthrob -- and because they "either had their own power, or connections to great power in the entertainment industry," he felt powerless against them.
"There was a circle of older men that surrounded themselves around this group of kids," he says. "(The pedophiles) have gotten away with it for so long that they feel that they're above the law. And that's gotta change. That's gotta stop."
Feldman says he didn't really understand "what they were and what they wanted" until he was much older. But he does say that fellow child star Haim's drug addictions -- which have been linked to his untimely death from pneumonia -- were a coping mechanism for the abuse he suffered at the hands of one particular man.
"There's one person to blame in the death of Corey Haim and that person happens to be a Hollywood mogul," claims Feldman, "and that person needs to be exposed but unfortunately I can't be the one to do it. But that person knows who he is and is watching this right now, I guarantee you."
The allegation that both Coreys were molested is shocking, but they have actually admitted it before, during an argument on their A&E series The Two Coreys. In the Season 2 premiere, Haim says that a friend of Feldman's raped him when he was fourteen, and Feldman responds by mentioning his own abuse (which he says happened while he was asleep). After that clip aired, there was some speculation that Feldman may have been talking about Michael Jackson. But in an interview with GQ, he revealed that it was his assistant who was the molester -- not Jackson.
What Feldman has not revealed is the identity of the man who allegedly molested Haim. The late star's mother also refused to comment to Nightline about the allegations. But if this guy is still out there, and still using his power to abuse children, shouldn't Feldman be taking a public stand against him? We're not sure we understand his silence. What we do understand is that the dark side of child stardom is darker than we ever imagined.
