The growing number of Hollywood men accused of sexual misconduct
IN THE wake of explosive reports alleging decades of sexual abuse and harassment by veteran producer Harvey Weinstein, more women and men are coming forward with stories about unwanted sexual advances, assault and other sexual misconduct by prominent Hollywood figures.
What follows is a list of men who have addressed and/or faced career fallout from recent allegations. — Brett Ratner The Los Angeles Times published a story on Wednesday featuring accounts by six women, including actresses Olivia Munn and Natasha Henstridge, who accuse the “Rush Hour” director of sexually harassing or assaulting them. Munn told the newspaper that Ratner masturbated in front of her while she was visiting the set of his 2004 film “After the Sunset.” Munn referenced the incident in her 2010 essay collection “Suck It, Wonder Woman!: The Misadventures of a Hollywood Geek,” but did not name Ratner.
Henstridge alleges Ratner forced her to perform oral sex in an early 1990s incident.
Ratner disputed the accounts through his attorney Martin Singer, who sent a 10-page letter to the L.A. Times noting that “no woman has ever made a claim against him for sexual misconduct or sexual harassment” and that “no woman has ever requested or received any financial settlement from my client.” — Dustin Hoffman The Hollywood Reporter published a guest column on Wednesday by Anna Graham Hunter, who alleges the Oscarwinning actor sexually harassed her when she was a 17-year-old intern working as a production assistant on the set of the 1985 TV film “Death of a Salesman.” Hunter said Hoffman asked her for a foot massage on her first day, and routinely offered lewd sexual exchanges.
The actor addressed the allegations in a statement to the Hollywood Reporter: “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.” — Kevin Spacey Actor Anthony Rapp told BuzzFeed that the veteran actor made an unwanted sexual advance toward him at a party more than 30 years ago. Rapp was just 14 at the time, while Spacey was 26. In a Twitter post, Spacey said he did not remember the alleged encounter, but apologised “if I did behave then as (Rapp) describes.” Spacey addressed rumours about his sexual orientation in the same post, saying “I choose now to live as a gay man,” which prompted backlash from many, particularly in the LGBT community. In recent days, other men have come forward with allegations against the actor, who has not yet responded to those accusations.
Following the BuzzFeed report, Netflix announced that “House of Cards” would end after its forthcoming sixth season. But on Tuesday, the streaming company and producer Media Rights Capital said they would suspend production on the political drama “until further notice, to give us time to review the current situation and to address any concerns of our cast and crew.”
The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced on Monday that it is withdrawing a special Emmy Award that Spacey was to receive Nov 20. The actor’s name was also removed from this week’s episode of “This Is Us,” in a scene that originally made a reference to “a Kevin Spacey movie.” — James Toback Last month, the Los Angeles Times published an investigative report featuring the accounts of 38 women who accuse the director (who helmed films including “Two Girls and a Guy” and “The Pick-Up Artist) of sexual harassment. After the story published, 200 more women contacted writer Glenn Whipp with allegations of harassment by Toback. Whipp said in an Oct 26 tweet that a total of 310 had contacted him about the director. Toback’s accusers include Selma Blair and Rachel McAdams, who detailed their experiences with Toback in a Vanity Fair interview.
Toback denied the initial allegations, telling the newspaper that he hadn’t met the women. In cases where he had, Toback said “it was for five minutes and have no recollection.” “He also repeatedly claimed that for the last 22 years it had been ‘biologically impossible’ for him to engage in the behaviour described by his accusers,” Whipp wrote.
Toback later offered an expletive-laden response to the accusations in an interview with Rolling Stone. “The idea that I would offer a part to anyone for any other reason than that he or she was gonna be the best of anyone I could find is so disgusting to me,” he told the magazine.
Variety reported on Tuesday that Toback, along with Weinstein, is under investigation by the Beverly Hills Police Department. — Jeremy Piven In a series of tweets, reality TV star Ariane Bellamar accused the former “Entourage” star of groping her on the set of the HBO dramedy.
The actor “unequivocally” denied the allegation in a statement to Deadline. “It did not happen,” he said. “It takes a great deal of courage for victims to come forward with their histories, and my hope is that the allegations about me that didn’t happen, do not detract from stories that should be heard.”
Piven is currently starring in the CBS drama “Wisdom of the Crowd.” In a statement to Deadline on Tuesday, the network said “we are aware of the media reports and are looking into the matter.” HBO also released a statement about the allegations, noting that “everyone at HBO and our productions is aware that zero tolerance for sexual harassment is our policy. Anyone experiencing an unsafe working environment has several avenues for making complaints that we take very seriously.” — Ben Affleck The actor, who has appeared in a number of Weinstein-produced films including the 1997 drama “Good Will Hunting,” wrote on Facebook that he was “saddened and angry that a man whom I worked with used his position of power to intimidate, sexually harass and manipulate many women over decades.”
Affleck’s statement prompted one Twitter user to recall an incident during the actor’s 2003 appearance on MTV’s “Total Request Live.” “He also grabbed Hilarie Burton’s breasts on TRL once. Everyone forgot though.” “I didn’t forget,” Burton responded, later tweeting out a link to a video clip, where in a documentary about the show, she recalls the moment Affleck “comes over and tweaks my left boob.”
“I acted inappropriately toward Ms Burton and I sincerely apologise,” Affleck tweeted. — Roy Price Isa Hackett, a producer on Amazon’s “The Man in the High Castle” told the Hollywood Reporter last month that Price, then the head of Amazon Studios, repeatedly made unwanted sexual advances toward her in 2015 during a trip to San Diego’s Comic-Con International in 2015.
Price was suspended from the company amid the allegations, and resigned several days later. — Chris Savino Last month, animation-focused website Cartoon Brew reported that as many as 12 women had accused the animator, who created Nickelodeon’s “The Loud House,” of unwanted sexual advances and other forms of harassment.
After several accusers detailed their experiences, Savino was suspended from the Viacomowned cable network. Two days later, Nickelodeon said in a statement to the Hollywood Reporter that Savino had been fired. “We take allegations of misconduct very seriously, and we are committed to fostering a safe and professional workplace environment that is free of harassment or other kinds of inappropriate conduct,” the network said.
Savino later addressed the allegations in a Facebook post that has since been taken down. “I am deeply sorry and I am ashamed,” he wrote. “Although it was never my intention, I now understand that the impact of my actions and communications created an unacceptable environment.” — WP-Bloomberg