Scott Baio has attempted to clarify some comments he made following the death on April 22 of his Happy Days and Joanie Loves Chachi co-star Erin Moran.
The outspoken actor, who is no stranger to controversy, faced a ton of backlash via social media after he was asked about Moran's passing on WABC Radio's The Bernie and Sid Show and had this to say: "I’m OK, a little shocked but not completely shocked that this happened. But my thing really is, I feel bad because her whole life, she was troubled, could never find what made her happy and content. For me, you do drugs or drink, you’re gonna die and I’m sorry if that’s cold, but God gave you a brain, gave you the will to live and thrive and you gotta take care of yourself. I'm sorry. You just have to.
"And I'm saddened by what happened," he continued, "and I don't know if it was drugs that killed her. I mean I read one report that it might have been and I hope it ... you know, I don't know what I hope, but it is what it is."
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Although the 56-year-old did admit that he didn't know the cause of her death, his suggestion about her drug abuse having something to do with it ignited a social media firestorm especially after authorities announced that she likely died from stage 4 cancer.
Baio fired back at some commentators on Twitter before taking to Facebook with a lengthy post clarifying his remarks for anyone who cared to read them.
"The Internet and television stations were blasting headlines 'Erin Moran died due to a heroin overdose,'" he wrote. "This made me very upset and angry. This is one of my worse (sic) fears for her, or anyone else."
He concluded his post writing, “Please stop assuming the worse (sic) in me. I'm a compassionate person. I'm very heartbroken over her passing, especially since it was cancer. I don't see people going after or attacking every network that said it was a drug overdose. I've openly stated my truths."
You can read Baio's full statement below: