I’m no groper, says Hoffman in stage grilling

DUSTIN HOFFMAN has angrily defended himself against accusations of sexual harassment, dismissing the claims during a surprise grilling on stage at a panel discussion.

John Oliver, the British comedian who hosts the popular late-night show Last Week Tonight, was moderating a discussion about the 1997 political comedy Wag The Dog. On stage were Hoffman, his co-star Robert Deniro, producer Jane Rosenthal and director Barry Levinson.

But midway through the discussion, in New York on Monday, Oliver brought up a recent allegation made by Anna Graham Hunter that two-time Oscar winner Hoffman had 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.

“This is something we’re going to have to talk about because it’s hanging in the air,” said Oliver. “It’s hanging in the air?” Hoffman said. “From a few things you’ve read you’ve made an incredible assumption about me,” he noted, adding sarcastically, “You’ve made the case better than anyone else can. I’m guilty.”

The 80-year-old had offered a conditional apology at the time of the allegation, and on Monday he underscored an “if ” included in that statement, noting several times that he didn’t really believe he had done anything wrong. He said he had not engaged in groping, didn’t recall meeting Ms Graham Hunter and that all his comments on set were simply how members of “a family” talked to one another. “I still don’t know who this woman is,” Hoffman said. “I never met her; if I met her it was in concert with other people.”

But Oliver said that was insufficient, adding: “It’s ‘not reflective of who I am’ – it’s that kind of response to this stuff that p----- me off. It is reflective of who you were. If 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. It feels like a cop-out to say ‘it wasn’t me.’ Do you understand how that feels like a dismissal?”

Hoffman accused Oliver of “putting me on display” and said he felt blindsided because neither Oliver nor the organisers had told him the moderator would raise the subject.

Some in the crowd supported Oliver, yelling out: “Thank you for believing women.”