During an appearance on Zach Braff and Donald Faison's podcast, Heather claims that James took the actions described in the script a step too far as they filmed their scene for 'The First Wives Club'.

• Jul 30, 2020

AceShowbiz - Actor James Naughton has cleared up groping allegations made by his "The First Wives Club" co-star Heather Locklear after she went public with the "gross" encounter.

Locklear, 58, had a small role as Naughton's onscreen spouse, Mary, in the 1996 movie, directed by Hugh Wilson, and her lone scene, in which the actress had no lines, required her now-74-year-old castmate to grab her boob.

"We were at a funeral, and he was supposed to take his hand and touch my breast," she explained on Zach Braff and Donald Faison's podcast, "Fake Doctors, Real Friends".

But Locklear claims Naughton took the actions described in the script a step too far: "He actually touched more... It was... gross...," she said. "(He) actually outlines my areola with his finger."

The actress was left so shocked and disgusted by Naughton's bold move, she asked the filmmakers to remove her name from the movie's credits.

However, Naughton has hit back at Locklear's recollection of the incident, insisting he was simply following orders expressly detailed in his script - which didn't exactly sit well with him, either.

His representative tells Yahoo Entertainment, "James remembers shooting this scene as written in the script. He completely understands that Heather would have felt uncomfortable shooting this scene, as he felt uncomfortable as well."

To support his story, Naughton, who played Gil Griffin, dug out a copy of the script, dated December 9, 1995, which was provided to Yahoo Entertainment.

It stated: "Despite the grave facade, we see that Gil is subtly using his finger to feel Mary's breast. Mary smiles at him shyly."

Locklear has yet to respond.