Dustin Hoffman accused of sexually harassing teen girl
Writer Anna Graham Hunter was just 17 years old when she interned on the 1985 made-for-television film adaptation of Death of a Salesman, but her first experience working in Hollywood left her with lasting emotional scars.
Hunter wrote in a guest article for The Hollywood Reporter she was subject to constant sexual harassment from Dustin Hoffman, now 80.
“He asked me to give him a foot massage my first day on set; I did,” she wrote. “He was openly flirtatious, he grabbed my ass, he talked about sex to me and in front of me.”
At first, Hunter admits she “loved the attention”, but things quickly took a dark turn.
“One morning I went to his dressing room to take his breakfast order; he looked at me and grinned, taking his time. Then he said, ‘I’ll have a hard-boiled egg … and a soft-boiled clitoris.’ His entourage burst out laughing. I left, speechless. Then I went to the bathroom and cried.”
Hunter, who kept a detailed diary during her time as an intern, shared some unsettling extracts describing the harassment she experienced.
“Today, when I was walking Dustin to his limo, he felt my ass four times,” she alleges. “I hit him each time, hard, and told him he was a dirty old man. He took off his hat and pointed to his head (shaved for the part) and said, ‘No, I’m a dirty young man, I have a full head of hair.’”
On another day, she wrote, “This morning when I asked Dustin what he wanted for breakfast, he said something that beat even his lows. It was worse than anything anyone has ever said to me on the street. It was so gross I couldn’t say anything. I just turned around and walked out.”
Upon being contacted by The Hollywood Reporter, Hoffman issued the following apology: “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.”