The Hollywood director James Toback has been accused of sexual harassment by 38 women in a damning Los Angeles Times report published on Sunday.
The report comes as Hollywood continues to process the avalanche of claims by women against Harvey Weinstein, as it emerged on Saturday the DGA has begun the process of booting out the disgraced former mogul. Weinstein directed two films in the 1980s.
Toback, whose directing credits include recent Venice premiere The Private Life Of A Modern Woman starring Sienna Miller and who was nominated for the screenplay Oscar for Bugsy in 1992, denies the claims, in which various woman describe lewd behavior and language during meetings.
Guardians Of The Galaxy director James Gunn posted a message on Facebook in which he said he has been warning people not to work with Toback for 20 years.
An excerpt from the post read: When I lived in New York, in the ‘nineties, this dude was EVERYWHERE. I have personally met at least FIFTEEN WOMEN, probably more, who say that he’s accosted them in NYC. He essentially goes up to women and says, “Hey, I’m James Toback, and I’m a famous director, and I feel like there’s a connection between us.” Then he shows them some article on himself or some other artifact to prove he is who he is, and tries to get them to go somewhere else with him.
“He has done this to three girls I’ve dated, two of my very best friends, and a family member… twice. Yes, he came up to her twice with the same stupid line, not realizing she was the same person. This is in addition to many other women I’ve talked to at parties or dinners about their interactions with Toback.”
Director Paul Feig tweeted: “One of the main jobs of a director is to create a safe environment for the actors. James Toback is a disgrace.”
Rose McGowan took to Twitter to say, “James Toback damn you for stealing, damn you for traumatizing.”
- In other news, APA agent Tyler Grasham has been fired following allegations by clients of sexual assault. Prior to his dismissal, Grasham was fired by several clients, including Stranger Things and It star Finn Wolfhard.
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