The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
John Oliver reflects on talk with Dustin Hoffman
“Last Week Tonight” host John Oliver’s tense discussion with Dustin Hoffman over the sexual assault claims facing the actor made waves earlier this month, but not for the reasons the comedian had hoped.
Oliver opened up about the heated panel exchange, and appeared regretful not for bringing up the touchy subject, but for the fact his line of questioning gained more attention than Hoffman’s answers.
“It wasn’t ideal that it became such a big story — but it became about my questions rather than his answers. My questions weren’t particularly remarkable, but his answers were kind of not great . ... But it didn’t really go anywhere constructive, so the whole thing just made me feel sad. I tried and failed,” he told Sky One’s “The Russell Howard Hour.”
At the time, Hoffman, 80, had been accused of sexual misconduct by two women; the number has since risen to eight.
Anna Graham Hunter claimed in October she was an intern on the 1985 set of “Death of a Salesman” when Hoffman made aggressively lewd comments, requested foot massages and groped her.
He apologized, saying such behavior was “not reflective of his character.”
While moderating a panel discussion that marked the 20th anniversary of the film “Wag the Dog,” Oliver slammed Hoffman’s public apology.
“It is reflective of who you were. If it happened, and you’ve given no evidence to show it didn’t happen, then there was a period of time for a while when you were a creeper around women. So it feels like a cop-out to say, ‘This isn’t me,’ ” Oliver said to Hoffman.
The actor responded with, “You weren’t there,” to which Oliver quipped, “I’m glad.”