Transparent co-star alleges impropriety by Tambor
LOS ANGELES — An actress on Transparent says the show’s star, Jeffrey Tambor, pressed his body against hers in a sexually aggressive manner and made inappropriate and unwanted sexual statements on the set of the show.
Tambor denies the allegations, saying in a statement that he has “never been a predator — ever.”
Tambor, 73, plays the transgender matriarch of the Pfefferman family on Transparent, which streams on Amazon. The actress, Trace Lysette, who is herself transgender, said in a statement to Deadline last week that when she emerged from wardrobe in a costume of a lingerie top and shorts for a scene with Tambor, he said: “My God, Trace. I want to attack you sexually.”
Lysette said she and another actress laughed off the remark, but then Tambor later approached her between scenes.
“He came in close, put his bare feet on top of mine so I could not move, leaned his body against me, and began quick, discreet thrust back and forth against my body,” Lysette said. “I felt his penis on my hip through his thin pyjamas.”
Lysette urged Amazon in her statement to “remove the problem and let the show go on.”
Amazon Studios says it is adding the information to an investigation of Tambor it opened last week when his assistant made similar allegations, which Tambor also denied, calling her “disgruntled.”
Tambor said in a statement that he can be difficult to work with, but denied any sexual misbehaviour.
“I am deeply sorry if any action of mine was ever misinterpreted by anyone as being sexually aggressive or if I ever offended or hurt anyone,” he said. “But the fact is, for all my flaws, I am not a predator and the idea that someone might see me in that way is more distressing than I can express. ”
Tambor is the latest high profile Hollywood figure to be accused of misconduct in a wave that began when dozens of sexualharassment allegations were reported last month against film mogul Harvey Weinstein, who is being investigated for rape by police departments in London, New York and Los Angeles. An unnamed actress has filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against Weinstein and his former company in an attempt to hold them financially responsible for the producer’s alleged actions.
The lawsuit is among several that have been filed in the flood of allegations: On Friday, Creative Arts Agency, a high-profile Los Angeles talent agency, did not immediately respond to a telephone message seeking comment on a lawsuit filed Thursday by an actress alleging she was sexually assaulted and that CAA did nothing to stop it. The lawsuit was filed last week in Los Angeles by actress Demi Mann.