A star of one of reality television's most famous families has broken his silence about a disturbing event. Jacob Roloff, the youngest son of the Roloff family on the TLC series Little People, Big World, has alleged that he was a victim of a heinous crime when he appeared on the program as a child.
Jacob Roloff took to Instagram with a lengthy statement, in which he named the alleged perpetrator as a former field producer for Little People, Big World and explained his reasons for coming forward. Read part of the statement below:
It is often much easier to think about things than it is to talk about them, and so this disclosure has been delayed, but through that delay I have found the fortitude and words. As a child, after what I realize now was a long grooming process, I was molested by an executive field producer for Little People, Big World, Chris Cardamone. I do not expect to provide details of this encounter at any point publicly. I do hope he is never allowed around children again.... By revealing this, I may be more fully understood and my perspective on issues such as child sexual abuse, child exploitation, and the collateral costs of reality television may be received more clearly. Although, I would have to add that this experience has not solely defined my point of view on any of these issues, nor has it defined my worldview in general. This may also serve as a reminder that the experience of sexual assault, in all of its iterations, can happen to anyone at anytime and is a far more prevalent reality than any of our social stigma allows us to to talk about.
The man mentioned in the statement, Chris Cardamone, was a field producer for Little People, Big World from 2007-2010. Jacob Roloff left the series back in 2016 and has since been vocal about his distaste for the reality television experience and that producers created unnecessary tension in the family.
The former Little People, Big World cast member has received an outpouring of support from the internet, but with any situation like this, there can always be doubters. Jacob Roloff seemed to try and get out ahead of that discussion in his statement, where he continued with some of the common questions asked when situations like these occur.
'Why not speak out sooner?' A child must process, and I needed silence and time. I continue my own contemplation on the voyeurism involved in the entire enterprise of reality television — a massive spectacle of drama and pain and argument and invasion, with a little joy sprinkled over, that viewers watch completely disassociated from the complex humans inside the simplistic ‘characters’ they see on TV. Yet, there is no inherent causal connection between reality television production and childhood trauma. We are still sprinting ahead with the enterprise deaf, dumb, and blind, asking for forgiveness later, instead of asking harder preliminary questions of ourselves. The profits were indeed sweet. The actual experience was more complicated.
TLC has since responded to the statement to Us Weekly, saying the network was "saddened and troubled" by the allegation and wished to focus on "supporting the Roloff family during this very difficult time." As for the accused, Chris Cardamone was not a direct employee of the network and according to IMDB has not worked in television since 2014.
As for how the Roloff family has responded, his immediate family (minus Jacob's wife Isabel) has been silent on social media for at least a few days. Jacob Roloff took a chance to address his family in the statement, and that he does not believe they are responsible for what happened.
It must finally be emphasized that all fault lies with the predator, and no fault lies with any of my family members. I am certain that this is a positive moment for me, and another step toward a brighter future.
Time will tell how TLC will respond further to these claims, and how it may impact Little People, Big World going forward. It's unclear what the statute of limitations would be on the alleged crime, and what can be done by the network to ensure something like this doesn't happen again.
Little People, Big World has been filming for Season 22 at TLC. Continue to stick with CinemaBlend for all the latest happening in the franchise, and for more news in television and movies.
