George Takei, Richard Dreyfuss respond to harassment accusations
Spokesman calls claim ‘ridiculous’ after former U.S. goalie Solo says she was groped by ex-FIFA president
George Takei took to Twitter on Saturday to deny groping a male model and Richard Dreyfuss said he never exposed himself to a female writer helping him with a TV script, both back in the 1980s.
Takei, the 80-year-old “Star Trek” icon, said in a series of tweets that events described by Scott R. Brunton in The Hollywood Reporter “simply did not occur,” and he does not remember ever knowing Brunton.
“Right now it is a he said/he said situation, over alleged events nearly 40 years ago. But those that know me understand that non-consensual acts are so antithetical to my values and my practices, the very idea that someone would accuse me of this is quite personally painful,” Takei tweeted.
Dreyfuss, meanwhile, told the New York magazine blog Vulture he flirted and even kissed Los Angeles writer Jessica Teich over several years but thought it was a “consensual seduction ritual.” The fact that “I did not get it,” he said, “makes me reassess every relationship I have ever thought was playful and mutual.”
Teich told Vulture she first met Dreyfuss at a theatre where she worked and they spent hours together over several years after she was hired to develop a script for an ABC comedy special. The actor, she said, made continual, overt and lewd comments and invitations but she never told anyone. Dreyfuss, now 70, called Teich a friend of more than 30 years.
In 1987, Teich said, she was summoned to his trailer on the set of one of his films and he exposed his genitals to her. Dreyfuss agent Barry McPherson on Saturday said his client denies ever exposing himself to Teich. As for other encounters with Teich, Dreyfuss said he is now “horrified and bewildered to discover that it wasn’t consensual.”
Teich said she decided to speak out after Dreyfuss tweeted support for his son, Harry, after the younger Dreyfuss went public with accusations that Kevin Spacey groped his crotch when he was 18.
Hope Solo says former FIFA president Sepp Blatter grabbed her rear shortly before the two were to appear on stage at a prestigious soccer ceremony four years ago. A representative for Blatter called the allegation “ridiculous.”
In an interview published Friday in the Portuguese newspaper Expresso, the former goalkeeper for the U.S. women’s national team recounted what happened at the Ballon d’Or awards in 2013 in Zurich.
A representative for Solo confirmed to The Associated Press on Friday that the report was accurate and said the player had no further comment.
Blatter spokesman Thomas Renggli messaged the AP on Saturday: “This allegation is ridiculous.”
The remarks by Solo come amid a torrent of accusations by women of sexual harassment and abuse in the entertainment and media industries.
Solo anchored the U.S. team in goal during its 2015 Women’s World Cup championship run, allowing just three goals in seven games with five shutouts during the tournament.
For her career, Solo has made 202 total appearances with the national team, with 153 wins and an international-record 102 shutouts.
Solo’s time with the national team ended following last year’s Olympics in Brazil, where the Americans were ousted by Sweden in the quarter-finals. Afterward, Solo called the Swedish team “cowards” for its defensive play.
She was suspended from the team shortly thereafter and has not returned. She was dogged throughout her career with controversies, including a 2014 domestic violence case involving a family member’s home in Washington state.
Blatter was suspended as head of soccer’s governing body for six years following allegations of widespread corruption in a scandal that came to light in 2015. U.S. and Swiss officials co-operated in the investigation, which is ongoing, and more than 40 people have been indicted.
Blatter has had a history of what many consider to be sexist behaviour concerning the women’s game.
U.S. forward Alex Morgan has said that Blatter failed to recognize her at the annual awards event in 2012, even though she was one of three nominees for the women’s player of the year.
Blatter also famously argued in 2004 that players could boost the popularity of the women’s game by wearing tighter shorts.