The feud between Nicole Eggert and Scott Baio has reached new heights after an argument over the legitimacy of the Baio family’s foundation, which was created to raise awareness for the disease that killed Baio’s unborn baby.
Ex-co-star Eggert, the co-lead of Charles in Charge, accused Baio of sexual assault at the end of January (Baio strongly denies Eggert’s accusations), and now she has taken aim at Baio and his wife Renee, as well as their 10-year-old daughter Bailey, via Twitter.
Eggert has made her Twitter account private since the exchange, but Renee posted screenshots of Eggert’s tweets to her own account.
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According to the screenshots, Eggert alleged that the foundation the Baios created was illegitimate and that the disease itself is “nonexistent.”
When Renee was pregnant with their daughter Bailey, she was actually carrying twins. The couple lost one of the babies at 11 weeks due to a rare and potentially deadly metabolic disorder called glutaric acidemia type 1 (GA-1).
When Bailey was born, she had initially tested positive for the same disease and remained in the hospital for three months. She was eventually given a clean bill of health despite being a carrier for the disease.
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Baio and Renee established their foundation, the Bailey Baio Angel Foundation, to draw attention to the disease and support families with children affected by it.
Glutaric acidemia type I is an inherited disorder in which the body is unable to process certain proteins properly, according to the foundation’s website.
It also states that people with this disorder have inadequate levels of an enzyme that helps break down the amino acids lysine, hydroxylysine, and tryptophan, which are building blocks of protein.
The excessive levels of the amino acids and their intermediate breakdown products can accumulate and cause damage to the brain, particularly the basal ganglia, which are regions that help control movement, according to the Bailey Baio Angel Foundation.
In most cases, signs and symptoms first occur in infancy or early childhood, but in a small number of affected individuals, the disorder first becomes apparent in adolescence or adulthood.
The foundation’s website also notes that some infants are born with unusually large heads, may have difficulty moving, and may experience spasms, jerking, rigidity, or decreased muscle tone. It also says some individuals with glutaric acidemia have developed bleeding in the brain or eyes that could be mistaken for the effects of child abuse.
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On April 20, Eggert allegedly took to Twitter to question the foundation and disease. “Who do they help? A non-existent disease?” Eggert tweeted, using several crying-tears-of-laughter emojis.
Renee took a screenshot of the tweet and posted it to her own Twitter account, writing “This person just condemned every child that suffers from an organic acidemia. My husband and I lost a child to GA-1.”
https://twitter.com/MrsScottBaio/status/987445826656989184
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Renee posted another screenshot of Eggert clarifying that the disease is real, but she does not believe that the Baios’ daughter Bailey is affected by it. She also alleged that the foundation had been “reported.”
“Ms Eggert, OUR BABY DIED & our daughter spent 3 months at Childrens Hospital before learning she’s a carrier,” Renee wrote, alongside the screenshot. “Bailey Baio Angel Foundation has NEVER been fined. NEVER! You CAN bet your a— I’ll request 2 audit yours.”
Many people took to social media to criticize Eggert for her comments, with some users calling her a “disgusting human being.”
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Baio released a statement on the situation through his rep Biran Glicklich to People saying: “Nicole Eggert’s attack on every family living with GA-1 or any other Organic Acidemia is one of the lowest and most horrifying thoughtless insults I have ever witnessed. She did so to hurt my wife Renee, who works tirelessly for these families on behalf of both the child we lost, and the one that spent most of the first three months of her life in the hospital.”
The statement continued: “Even this week, Renee was contacted by a family of a newborn who is motionless in the upper body, suffering from brain bleeding, and apparently blind, waiting for test results confirming this diagnosis. We are supporting them as best we can through one of the most traumatic events anyone can imagine. There is no place for Nicole Eggert’s malevolent hate, either online or elsewhere. Her words speak for themselves.”
Eggert has not commented further on the matter.
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