Child Star Reveals Armed Fan Nearly Abducted Her From Set

Clear Facts

• Ashley Johnson was 7 years old when an armed fan attempted to abduct her during a live taping of “Growing Pains” after the show received a threat warning
• The suspect, who was under the influence of drugs, grabbed Johnson and attempted to carry her away before being tackled by security
• The incident occurred in 1990 when security protocols around child actors were far less stringent than they are today

Former child star Ashley Johnson is sharing a harrowing account from her time on the hit sitcom “Growing Pains,” revealing that an armed, drug-influenced fan attempted to kidnap her from the set when she was just 7 years old.

Johnson, who played Chrissy Seaver on the popular family sitcom, recounted the terrifying incident on the “Weird Kids” podcast. The attempted abduction occurred during her first year on the show in 1990, shortly after the production team had received a written threat from someone claiming they would bring a gun to the set and “murder some of the cast.”

“It was in the first year that I was on, and we had only done a couple of film nights,” Johnson explained.

The actress described how different security measures were in the early 1990s compared to today’s standards. Cast members stayed in basic camper trailers rather than modern luxury accommodations, and they walked directly past audience members on their way into the studio—often passing within just five feet of the crowd.

“We would exit our trailers before the shoot and the audience that would be walking in, you would walk by the audience before you would walk into the studio,” Johnson said.

Despite the serious threat warning the show had received, the young actress was still walking alongside audience members with only her mother as protection. That’s when disaster nearly struck.

“So, I’m walking with my mom, and then I just remember some guy hops out of the line, and he grabs me … grabs me up and starts booking it,” she recalled.

Security eventually tackled the suspect, but Johnson remembers “flying around in the air” as guards wrestled the man to the ground. The attacker was armed and under the influence of powerful drugs that gave him unusual strength.

“But he was packing. They got him. This was the thing. He was high on something. It wasn’t meth, but it was something — like, he was so strong,” Johnson said.

At just 7 years old, Johnson didn’t fully comprehend the gravity of what had happened. Her primary concern afterward was that she might get in trouble.

“I was clueless as to what was happening, but I was very upset, and they were talking to me about it after. And they were like, ‘Are you okay?’ … And I just said, ‘I just think I’m going to be in trouble,'” she remembered.

Looking back on the incident, Johnson attributes her calm reaction at the time to her nature as a child. “I was such a polite kid at the time,” she explained.

Johnson joined “Growing Pains” in 1990 as the youngest member of the Seaver family, appearing alongside Alan Thicke, Joanna Kerns, Kirk Cameron, Tracey Gold and Jeremy Miller. Leonardo DiCaprio later joined the cast before the show concluded in 1992.

The actress has since built a successful career spanning both on-screen and voice acting work. She earned widespread acclaim for her performance as Ellie in “The Last of Us” video game franchise and later appeared as Anna, Ellie’s mother, in HBO’s television adaptation of the popular game series.

This disturbing revelation highlights the real dangers child actors faced during an era when security protocols were far less comprehensive than they are today. The incident serves as a stark reminder of the responsibility entertainment companies bear in protecting young performers from obsessed fans and potential threats.

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