Melissa Gilbert broke her silence after her husband, actor Timothy Busfield, surrendered to authorities over allegations involving minors.
The Emmy winner turned himself in but maintained his innocence, saying the allegations against him were “lies.”
“I did not do anything to those little boys,” he said.
Melissa Gilbert broke her silence as her husband, Timothy Busfield, faces accusations involving minors
Image credits: Noam Galai/Getty Images
Trigger warning: This article contains graphic details that may be distressing to some.
After Timothy Busfield was accused of inappropriately touching two young boys on the set of his TV show, his wife Melissa Gilbert issued a statement and said she “stands with and supports him.”
“Melissa Gilbert is not making public statements at this time,” a representative for the Little House on the Prairie star told the Daily Mail.
Image credits: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
“Any purported ‘statements’ circulating online – including AI-generated deepfakes of her ‘breaking her silence’ – should not be treated as coming from her,” the message continued.
The statement revealed that Melissa was “honoring” the request of Timothy’s lawyers to refrain from speaking publicly amid the legal process.
Melissa was “honoring” the request of Timothy’s lawyers amid the legal process, her representative said
Image credits: Metropolitan Detention Center
The actress’s focus remains on “supporting and caring for their very large family” during this period, they added.
“Melissa stands with and supports her husband and will address the public at an appropriate time. We ask that their privacy be respected.”
Image credits: Edify Films Presents
Timothy was accused of inappropriately touching two child actors, aged 7 and 8, on the set of the show The Cleaning Lady, which ran from 2022 to 2025.
The West Wing star, who directed and acted in the TV series, was accused of grooming the boys on the studio set and making them call him “Uncle Tim.”
The complaint said he “would tickle them on the stomach and legs, despite them not liking the tickling.”
The Emmy winner was accused of grooming the boys on the studio set and making them call him “Uncle Tim”
Image credits: 6ABC Philadelphia
At the time, the children did not allege any inappropriate touching on set. However, their parents contacted Child Protective Services in 2025 and said their children spoke about being ab*sed by the director from around November 2022 to spring 2024.
The affidavit referred to the children as VL and SL. It said one of them spoke to a therapist about Timothy touching his “genitalia” and “bottom” on multiple occasions on set.
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Albuquerque PD Officer Marvin Brown described Timothy’s behavior as “classic grooming,” with Melissa buying gifts to make SL “feel special.”
“He would invite the family to off-set gatherings, with his wife buying Christmas gifts to foster closeness, making SL feel special and dependent-classic grooming to erode boundaries, isolate the victim, and silence suspicions by blending ab*se into normalcy,” he said.
The complaint said at least one of the boys involved was diagnosed with PTSD after Timothy’s alleged behavior.
Officials said Melissa would buy gifts to “foster closeness” while Timothy would invite the boys’ family to spend time together off-set
Image credits: melissagilbertofficial
When Marvin interviewed Timothy, the director stated that he had engaged in “playful” contact with the boys on set, but claimed the allegations were part of the parents’ plot for revenge for not inviting the boys back for the final season.
He replaced the twins with a younger child actor for the last season of the show.
Image credits: Arturo Holmes/Getty Images
Following the allegations, Timothy said in a video shared by TMZ that he was going to “confront these lies” made against him.
“They’re horrible,” he said. “They’re all lies, and I did not do anything to those little boys and I’m gonna fight it.”
“I’m gonna fight it with a great team, and I’m gonna be exonerated, I know I am, because this is all so wrong and all lies,” he added.
After an arrest warrant was issued, Timothy surrendered to law enforcement and is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Bernalillo County on child s*x ab*se charges.
His first court appearance is scheduled for Wednesday, January 14, at 1:30 p.m. from the county jail.
Timothy called the allegations “horrible” lies that were part of a revenge plot
Image credits: WSFB 3
“Tim voluntarily appeared before New Mexico authorities after traveling across the country to confront these false and deeply troubling allegations. He is innocent and is determined to clear his name,” said Timothy’s civil attorney, Stanton “Larry” Stein.
Christina McGovern, an independent outside investigator who was retained by Warner Bros., released a statement about her own findings.
“I conducted an independent and thorough investigation of all allegations known to the Studio at the time. Warner Bros. gave me full discretion as to my investigation,” she said.
After gathering evidence and multiple witness statements, the private investigator said she found no “corroborating evidence” of the director engaging in “inappropriate conduct” or “ever [being] alone with the twins on set.”
“The claims being made against Tim are completely false, and we will fight this to the end until the truth prevails,” she added.
“She knew all about it too,” a netizen commented online about Melissa
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