US actor Dustin Hoffman has been accused of sexually harassing a 17-year-old.
Author Anna Graham Hunter claimed the actor groped her on the set of TV film Death of a Salesman in 1985 when she was interning as a production assistant.
Graham Hunter alleges Hoffman was “openly flirtatious,” “grabbed [her] ass” and asked her to give him a foot massage on her first day on set.
She detailed Hoffman’s alleged behaviour in a diary that she mailed to her sister at the time, in which he appears to frequently talk about sex.
Dustin Hoffman in Death of a Salesman (1985)In extracts published in The Hollywood Reporter she wrote: “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.”
Anna Graham HunterTwitterHer diary refers to the Tootsie actor as a “lech” and a “dirty old man” and details how her supervisor told her it is important to “sacrifice some of our values and just let it roll over our heads”.
Reflecting on the incidents, she said: “At 49, I understand what Dustin Hoffman did as it fits into the larger pattern of what women experience in Hollywood and everywhere. He was a predator, I was a child, and this was sexual harassment.”
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Hoffman issued an apology, saying he feels “terrible” for making Graham Hunter feel “uncomfortable”.
He said: “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 is the latest in a long line of harassment accusations levelled against Hollywood stars including Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey and Jeremy Piven.