Another actress calls out Hoffman
More in media, arts, politics face allegations
NEW YORK — A second actress has come forward to accuse Dustin Hoffman of allegations of sexual harassment, calling the Oscar-winner’s conduct “a horrific, demoralizing and abusive experience.”
Kathryn Rossetter, who co-starred with Hoffman in “Death of a Salesman” on Broadway in 1984, said the Oscar-winner would grope her nightly, demand foot rubs and once pulled her slip over her head to expose her breasts in front of the backstage crew. She said she cried nightly.
Rossetter told her account in The Hollywood Reporter on Friday, a month after actress Anna Graham Hunter alleged Hoffman groped her and made inappropriate comments when she was a 17-year-old intern on the set of the 1985 TV movie “Death of a Salesman,” in which Rossetter reprised her stage role. In other developments:
■ Six former clerks and externs said 9th U.S. Circuit Court Judge Alex Kozinski made inappropriate sexual comments to them, The Washington Post reported Friday.
Heidi Bond, a Kozinski clerk from 2006 to 2007, told the Post that Kozinski called her into his office repeatedly, showed her pornography on his computer and asked if it aroused her or if she thought it was photoshopped.
Kozinski, 67, reached by the Los Angeles Times on Friday, said: “I have no recollection of that happening.”
■ A former aide to Republican Rep. Trent Franks told The Associated Press the congressman repeatedly pressed her to carry his child, at one point offering her $5 million to act as a surrogate.
The eight-term Arizona lawmaker abruptly resigned Friday, bowing to an ultimatum from Speaker Paul Ryan. Ryan told Franks that he would refer the allegations to the Ethics Committee, and urged him to step aside.
■ California Assemblyman Matt Dababneh is resigning after a lobbyist alleged he sexually assaulted her in a bathroom. The Los Angeles Democrat said in his resignation letter Friday that the allegation is not true but he no longer believes he can effectively serve his district. He says he’ll cooperate with investigators and believes he’ll be vindicated.
His resignation is effective Jan. 1.
■ Peter Martins, the influential leader of New York City Ballet for three decades, has taken a leave of absence pending an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment.
The company confirmed late Thursday that 71-year-old Martins had requested and was granted a temporary leave from both the company and the affiliated School of American Ballet until an independent investigation is concluded.
The probe, which is being conducted by a law firm, was launched after the company received an anonymous letter accusing Martins of past sexual harassment. City Ballet has said that allegation was not specific.
■ Director Bryan Singer has been accused in a lawsuit of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old boy at a party more than a decade ago.
The lawsuit filed in Seattle claims Singer demanded sex from Cesar Sanchez-guzman during a 2003 yacht party. After the then-teenager refused, the lawsuit says, Singer pushed him on the bed and sexually assaulted him.
■ Former Congressman Harold Ford Jr. will not be a contributor on MSNBC’S “Morning Joe” program until allegations of misconduct against him are resolved, show co-host Mika Brzezinski announced Friday.
The announcement comes a day after Ford was fired by Morgan Stanley amid a report by Huffpost that a woman alleged that Ford forcibly grabbed her several years ago, engaging in harassment and intimidation.
■ The lawyer for a CNN producer fired last month following complaints about his behavior says the man was not accused of sexual harassment.
The network said Teddy Davis, a senior producer on Jake Tapper’s program, was let go following an investigation that found his conduct “does not align with the standards and values of the network.”