Who Is Scott Speer? New Details About Ashley Tisdale's Ex-Boyfriend And The Arson Charges He's Facing
He used to date Ashley Tisdale.
getty Making it in Hollywood is no small feat. Many people dedicate countless years and even more money trying to get the right headshots, make the right connections and whatever else it takes to help get them to the top. Of course, not everyone who moves to L.A. can become a mover and a shaker and the people who fail on their epic journey to stardom, well, some of them handle it alright, but others very much don't. While director and producer Scott Speer has had his share of successes, sadly, he's better known these days for being the ex-boyfriend of Ashley Tisdale, former Disney star. Now, however, his name is back in the headlines, but it's not for a reason he's proud of in the least. Who is Scott Speer?
1. Arson Charges
Though it may have been a while since you last saw his name in the tabloids, Scott Speer is back making a name for himself, and it's so not a good one. Apparently, on Thursday, April 18th, Scott and his wife got into an argument. The police wound up being called to the scene, according to TMZ. They claimed that he, allegedly under the influence of alcohol, became violent and laid hands on his wife during their argument. It doesn't stop there, either. According to the New York Daily News, the LA Fire Department, the fire squad and the paramedics were called to the scene of the crime. Speer is reported to have lit a broom on fire and threatened to burn down his house before the broom was extinguished. Paramedics treated a woman at the scene, likely Speer's wife, but they won't give out the name of their patient for obvious reasons.
2. What Now?
According to records available to the public about inmate arrests, Scott was arrested that same evening, April 18th. He was eventually booked into jail in the small hours of the following morning and it looks like the police are taking this case seriously: no slaps on the wrist so far, Scott's being charged with at least one felony. All that said, it's not like he hung around that jail for very long. His bond, set at $250,000 wasn't exactly chump change, and he managed to get it paid and get out of the jail on the same day that he was booked on charges of arson. He wasn't charged with assault, however, which could mean his wife didn't want to press charges. We'll know more when he goes to court on May 17th.
3. Meet His Wife
We've talked a lot so far about what happened to Scott and how his wife was involved, but we haven't talked about who his wife is. That changes now. Speer is married to Michelle McLaughlin Speer. They've been together for two years and Michelle even works for her husband's film production company, Jack-O-Lantern Entertainment. But she wasn't always so business oriented. In Michelle's life before Speer, she had a career of an entirely different sort. In fact, she briefly modeled and was actually featured in Playboy, where she was named the Playmate of the Month in February 2008. Prior to her life with Speer, she was married to F. P. Santangelo, a professional baseball player who is now a sports journalist. After earning a degree in psychology, Michelle went back to Playboy to work... as their Digital Content Coordinator.
4. His Famous Ex
If Speer's name still isn't jogging any memories, let's quickly review why you probably know him at all. You see, for three years, Speer dated Ashley Tisdale. The couple split in 2012, but during the time of their courtship, Tisdale was enjoying the height of her fame for her various roles on The Disney Channel, which made the couple's relationship more high profile. They actually met as co-workers before they started dating. Speer directed not one, but two Tisdale's music videos in the years leading up to their romance. They attempted to call things quits in 2011 but then tried to make it work. Tisdale told People, “I’m always traveling and doing something else. So I think communication is the foundation of it all.” They must have been bad at it, because they broke up not long after she gave this quote.
5. Successful On His Own
In a way, it's got to sting for Speer to know that it's only his ex and his criminal activities (allegedly) that he's known for when he's worked so hard to establish himself as a director and filmmaker. He's been working in the industry since 2006, working with the likes of Paris Hilton, Jordin Sparks and Paula Abdul. It seemed like he was on the right track. He took his career to the next long awaited level when he was tapped to direct the movie Step Up Revolution in 2012 which led to him being made an executive producer on the next Step Up film. Speer seemed poised to break into the big time. Here's hoping that this arrest and his marital problems don't throw him off track for long.
Rebecca Jane Stokes is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York with her cats, Batman and Margot. Her work focuses on relationships, pop culture and news. For more of her work, check out her Tumblr.