Dustin Hoffman Addresses Misconduct Allegations in New Memoir

Dustin Hoffman is revisiting the sexual misconduct allegations that surfaced publicly in 2017 in his new memoir, Look at Me, due out Nov. 10. In passages reported by People, the two-time Best Actor Oscar winner reflects on how some women may have experienced his conduct, while disputing that he ever pressured anyone sexually. “I’m sure it’s true that in my life, especially forty years ago, I made some women uncomfortable,” Hoffman writes, according to the report. He goes on to describe “uncomfortable” as subjective, suggesting that behavior one person finds offensive might strike another as funny or welcome. He also characterizes himself as someone who enjoys off-color jokes and quotes Bill Murray’s description of him as “a Borscht Belt flirt.” Hoffman says he does not consider that the same as pressuring someone into something they did not want. The allegations became widely known in 2017, when several women described claims in an interview with NBC Nightly News. Anna Graham Hunter, Cori Thomas and Kathryn Rossetter alleged that Hoffman exposed himself, touched them inappropriately or attempted to force sexual activity. Hunter and Thomas said the incidents they described happened when they were under 18. The article reports that eight women have accused Hoffman of sexual misconduct, with five others also coming forward with similar claims. Hoffman says he welcomed the wider reckoning over how women were treated in Hollywood, but writes that he did not expect to be accused himself. In the memoir, he denies ever taking something sexually from someone against their wishes and says he was unsure whether to defend himself when the claims appeared. He describes feeling bewildered, adding that he did not want to oppose a movement he believed was important, while maintaining that some things said about him were untrue. The actor also challenges the suggestion that his status gave him power over the women who spoke out. Rossetter, who appeared alongside him in the 1983 Broadway production of Death of a Salesman, alleged that he fondled her, according to the article. The supplied account ends before detailing the remainder of her claims. Hoffman’s memoir offers his own account and denials; the allegations remain the accusers’ claims.