{"id":10532,"date":"2026-07-19T11:41:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T06:41:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=10532"},"modified":"2026-07-19T11:41:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T06:41:18","slug":"growing-pains-star-ashley-johnson-reveals-gun-threat-abduction-attempt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=10532","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Growing Pains&#8217; star Ashley Johnson reveals gun threat, abduction attempt"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div id=\"beyondwords-wrapper\" data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"beyondwords-wrapper\">\n<p><span class=\"label-bg\">NEW<\/span>You can now listen to Fox News articles!\n  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"speakable\">Ashley Johnson is recalling a terrifying moment from her childhood in Hollywood, revealing a fan grabbed her and tried to abduct her during a live taping of &#8220;Growing Pains.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"speakable\">The <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_entertainment_article_main-content_article-body_6_2773089\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/entertainment\/child-stars\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">former child star<\/a> says she was just 7 years old when an armed fan broke from a studio audience line, grabbed her and tried to carry her away during a live taping after production had received a threat warning that someone planned to bring a gun to the set. Johnson said the man was armed.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;It was in the first year that I was on, and we had only done a couple of film nights,&#8221; Johnson began on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=FF05EKJDNd8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">&#8220;Weird Kids&#8221; podcast.<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_entertainment_article_main-content_article-body_6_2773091\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/entertainment\/kirk-cameron-praises-nashvilles-good-values-ditching-california-cost-living-politics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>KIRK CAMERON PRAISES NASHVILLE&#8217;S &#8216;GOOD VALUES&#8217; AFTER DITCHING CALIFORNIA OVER COST OF LIVING, POLITICS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<div data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"image-ct inline\">\n<div class=\"m\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/343\/192\/growing-pains-split.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/686\/384\/growing-pains-split.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"192\" width=\"343\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/672\/378\/growing-pains-split.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1344\/756\/growing-pains-split.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"378\" width=\"672\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/931\/523\/growing-pains-split.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1862\/1046\/growing-pains-split.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"523\" width=\"931\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/720\/405\/growing-pains-split.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1440\/810\/growing-pains-split.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"405\" width=\"720\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1200\/675\/growing-pains-split.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1\" alt=\"Ashley Johnson poses for a portrait in a studio setting.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n<div class=\"info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<p><span>The child star behind Chrissy Seaver, Ashley Johnson, reveals how lax security on the &#8220;Growing Pains&#8221; set led to a terrifying kidnapping attempt by an armed fan.<\/span> <span>(Christopher Polk\/NBCU Photo Bank\/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Back then, she said, security around the cast was far less restrictive than it is today.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;So, I hadn&#8217;t done that many yet \u2026 and at that time, all of the cast sort of had trailers, and they were like old camper trailers,&#8221; Johnson said. &#8220;Like they&#8217;re not like the fancy trailers that they are now.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"image-ct inline\">\n<div class=\"m\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/343\/192\/GettyImages-93765304.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/686\/384\/GettyImages-93765304.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"192\" width=\"343\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/672\/378\/GettyImages-93765304.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/1344\/756\/GettyImages-93765304.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"378\" width=\"672\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/931\/523\/GettyImages-93765304.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/1862\/1046\/GettyImages-93765304.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"523\" width=\"931\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/720\/405\/GettyImages-93765304.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/1440\/810\/GettyImages-93765304.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"405\" width=\"720\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/1200\/675\/GettyImages-93765304.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1\" alt=\"The cast of Growing Pains\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n<div class=\"info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<p><span>Ashley Johnson says an armed man grabbed her during a live taping of &#8220;Growing Pains&#8221; when she was 7, after production received a chilling threat.<\/span> <span>(Walt Disney Television\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">She explained that cast members walked directly past audience members on their way into the studio.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;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,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;And this is going to get a little dark, but somebody had written in and said that \u2018I am coming to set, and I am going to bring a gun \u2026 I am going to murder some of the cast.\u2019&#8221;<\/p>\n<div data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"image-ct inline\">\n<div class=\"m\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/343\/192\/growing-pains-ap.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/686\/384\/growing-pains-ap.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"192\" width=\"343\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/672\/378\/growing-pains-ap.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/1344\/756\/growing-pains-ap.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"378\" width=\"672\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/931\/523\/growing-pains-ap.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/1862\/1046\/growing-pains-ap.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"523\" width=\"931\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/720\/405\/growing-pains-ap.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/1440\/810\/growing-pains-ap.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"405\" width=\"720\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/1200\/675\/growing-pains-ap.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1\" alt=\"Growing Pains featured a star-studded cast, including Leonardo DiCaprio\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n<div class=\"info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<p><span>This 1991 image released by ABC shows the cast of &#8220;Growing Pains,&#8221; including Leonardo DiCaprio, Alan Thicke, Jeremy Miller, Kirk Cameron, Joanna Kerns, Tracey Gold and Ashley Johnson.\u00a0<\/span> <span>(Bob D&#8217;Amico\/ABC)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">With audience members only &#8220;within five feet&#8221; away when the cast was walking into the studio, Johnson said one man suddenly lunged toward her.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;So, I&#8217;m walking with my mom, and then I just remember some guy hops out of the line, and he grabs me \u2026 grabs me up and starts booking it,&#8221; she said. &#8220;And all I remember is like, there was security that somehow got on him after some time.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_entertainment_article_main-content_article-body_6_2773092\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/entertainment\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><u>LIKE WHAT YOU\u2019RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Johnson pointed out that she was too young to grasp the danger.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">She remembered &#8220;flying around in the air&#8221; as security wrestled the suspect to the ground.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_entertainment_article_main-content_article-body_6_2773093\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/entertainment\/brooke-shields-reflects-being-made-sex-symbol-young-age-how-she-turned-page-fame\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>BROOKE SHIELDS REFLECTS ON BEING MADE A &#8216;SEX SYMBOL&#8217; AT A YOUNG AGE AND HOW SHE TURNED THE PAGE ON FAME<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<div data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"image-ct inline\">\n<div class=\"m\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/343\/192\/ashley-johnson-red-carpet.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/686\/384\/ashley-johnson-red-carpet.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"192\" width=\"343\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/672\/378\/ashley-johnson-red-carpet.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1344\/756\/ashley-johnson-red-carpet.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"378\" width=\"672\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/931\/523\/ashley-johnson-red-carpet.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1862\/1046\/ashley-johnson-red-carpet.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"523\" width=\"931\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/720\/405\/ashley-johnson-red-carpet.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1440\/810\/ashley-johnson-red-carpet.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"405\" width=\"720\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1200\/675\/ashley-johnson-red-carpet.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1\" alt=\"Ashley Johnson attends an event at the Paley Center for Media in New York City.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n<div class=\"info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<p><span>&#8220;The Last of Us&#8221; actress Ashley Johnson reveals an armed fan attempted to abduct her at age 7 during a &#8216;Growing Pains&#8217; live taping after a threat was sent to the set.<\/span> <span>(Ben Gabbe\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;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, &#8216;Are you okay?&#8217; \u2026 And I just said, &#8216;I just think I&#8217;m going to be in trouble.'&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;But he was packing. They got him. This was the thing. He was high on something. It wasn&#8217;t meth, but it was something \u2014 like, he was so strong,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/newsletters?cmpid=fnfirstnl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><u>CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Looking back, Johnson said she didn&#8217;t immediately feel frightened because, &#8220;I was such <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_entertainment_article_main-content_article-body_6_2773095\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/entertainment\/goldie-hawn-sounds-alarm-childhood-celebrity-culture-say-nightmare\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a polite kid<\/a> at the time.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Johnson joined &#8220;Growing Pains&#8221; in 1990 as Chrissy Seaver, becoming the youngest member of the sitcom&#8217;s family alongside Alan Thicke, Joanna Kerns, Kirk Cameron, Tracey Gold and Jeremy Miller.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a href=\"https:\/\/foxnews.onelink.me\/xLDS?pid=AppArticleLink&amp;af_dp=foxnewsaf%3A%2F%2F&amp;af_web_dp=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fapps-products\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Leonardo DiCaprio later joined the cast before the show&#8217;s 1992 finale.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">The actress went on to build a decades-long career on screen and in voice acting, earning widespread acclaim as Ellie in &#8220;The Last of Us&#8221; video game franchise before appearing as Anna, Ellie&#8217;s mother, in HBO&#8217;s television adaptation.<\/p>\n<p> <!----> <!----> <\/p>\n<div class=\"article-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-bio\">\n<p>Stephanie Giang-Paunon is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Ashley Johnson is recalling a terrifying moment from her childhood in Hollywood, revealing a fan grabbed her and tried to abduct her during a live taping of &#8220;Growing Pains.&#8221; The former child star says she was just 7 years old when an armed fan broke from a&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10533,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/growing-pains-split.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pics-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10532"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10532\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}