Molly Shannon Details Creepy Hotel Room Encounter With 'Relentless' Gary Coleman

Gary Coleman wasn’t always as “cute” as he seemed, according to Molly Shannon.

While speaking to Howard Stern on his SiriusXM show Tuesday, the Saturday Night Live alum opened up about an encounter with the “relentless” late actor, which she recounted in her new memoir, Hello Molly!

The alleged incident went down in the late ‘80s when the comedienne thought she’d get a big break in her career by meeting with agent Mark Randall at a swanky hotel. Sadly, the night went in a completely different direction when she had a run-in with another one of Mark’s clients: Gary Coleman.

The diminutive Diff’rent Strokes star invited her up to his hotel room, but Molly said she didn’t think much of it, since Mark was coming up with them. When the shock jock asked her if she suspected anything sexual was going to happen, The Other Two star explained:

“I was a virgin, so I wasn’t even thinking about that. He held my hand, and I was like, ‘He’s so cute!’ He had a suit on.”

Once they entered the suite, Mark disappeared, Molly claims, and Gary continued to be cute — until he started acting aggressive with her.

Describing the actor as “relentless,” Molly remembered:

“He was trying to kiss me and get on top of me, and I was like, ‘Gary, stop.’ So I’d push him off. Then I would get off the bed, then he’d bounce on the bed — jump, jump, jump — and wrap himself around me, then I would fling him off, then he got on top of me…”

OMG, what a nightmare! Only one thing kept this from being a Harvey Weinstein-type story that scarred Molly forever:

“I was like, ‘Gary, stop!’ but I guess because of his size I didn’t feel physically threatened.”

When the creepy situation didn’t end, Molly said she hid in the bathroom, sharing:

“I go to the bathroom, and then he grabs onto my leg … I had to kick him off. Then I go lock myself into the bathroom and then he sticks his hand under the door and said, ‘I can see you!’”

Eeek!

When Howard asked how she got out of the room, the Ohio native said:

“I just sprinted out. I think I was probably very polite.”

Polite?! After that?? Although she did tell Mark to keep an eye out for his client on her way out of the room, she lamented:

“I wish I could’ve stood up for myself more.”

Hopefully, opening up about this bizarre encounter years later will be cathartic for the performer.

Watch the clips (below) to hear the full story, as well as some lighter anecdotes from the SNL alum’s career, including the fact she was a total scam artist early on!