Dustin Hoffman accused of sexual harassment
Los Angeles Nov 2 (IANS) Actor Dustin Hoffman has been accused of sexually harassing Anna Graham Hunter when she was an intern aged 17 in 1985.
Hunter now a writer has alleged that the actor now 80 groped her on the set of the movie "Death of a Salesman" and spoke inappropriately about sex with her reports theguardian.com.
"He asked me to give him a foot massage on my first day on set; I did " Hunter wrote in the guest column for hollywoodreporter.com.
"He was openly flirtatious he grabbed my ass he talked about sex to me and in front of me. One morning I went to his dressing room to take his breakfast order; he looked at me and grinned taking his time. Then he said ‘I ll have a hard-boiled egg … and a soft-boiled clitoris . His entourage burst out laughing.
"I left speechless. Then I went to the bathroom and cried."
Hunter detailed Hoffman s alleged treatment of her over her five weeks on set in a diary that she mailed to her sister at the time.
"Today when I was walking Dustin to his limo he felt my a** four times. I hit him each time hard and told him he was a dirty old man " she wrote.
She claimed that on set she was told to put up with his behaviour by a supervisor who told her to "sacrifice" some of her values for the sake of the production.
Hoffman has responded to the article with an apology: "I have the utmost respect for women and feel terrible that anything I might have done could have put her in an uncomfortable situation. I am sorry. It is not reflective of who I am."
The story comes after a deluge of similar stories of sexual harassment within Hollywood against producer Harvey Weinstein filmmaker James Toback and actor Kevin Spacey.
--IANS
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