Director James Toback Was Accused Of Sexual Harassment Of Almost 40 Women
38 women have accused writer and director James Toback of sexual harassment.
According to a report by the Los Angeles Times on Sunday, the director and screenwriter — perhaps best known for his 1991 nominated Oscar-nominated screenplay Bugsy starring Warren Beatty and Annette Bening — has been accused of masturbating in front of and dry-humping women, among other acts.
“The way he presented it, it was like, ‘This is how things are done,’” actor Adrienne LaValley told the Times about a 2008 encounter with Toback where she said he rubbed his crotch on her leg. When she drew back, he then ejaculated in his pants.
“I felt like a prostitute, an utter disappointment to myself, my parents, my friends. And I deserved not to tell anyone,” LaValley said.
In all, 31 of the 38 women in the story spoke on the record and nearly all, interviewed separately, had similar stories about Toback engaging in inappropriate sexual behavior during interviews, auditions, or meetings.
The alleged incidents against Toback come in the wake of more than 50 allegations of sexual assault and harassment by Harvey Weinstein, another Hollywood figure, who is also accused of using his position in the industry to sexually harass women.
Toback, now 72, is said to have approached several women, some as young as high school age, in the streets of Manhattan, where he would introduce himself in attempt to establish his stature in the movie industry. He set up meetings with these women, telling them he would make them famous, the LA Times story recounts:
During these meetings, many of the women said, Toback boasted of sexual conquests with the famous and then asked humiliating personal questions. How often do you masturbate? How much pubic hair do you have? He’d tell them, they said, that he couldn’t properly function unless he “jerked off” several times a day. And then he’d dry-hump them or masturbate in front of them, ejaculating into his pants or onto their bodies and then walk away. Meeting over.
“He always wanted me to read for him in a hotel or come back to his apartment, like, ‘How serious are you about your craft?’” recalled Starr Rinaldi, who says she was approached by Toback 15 years ago in Central Park. "And the horrible thing is, whichever road you choose, whether you sleep with him or walk away, you’re still broken,” Rinaldi told the paper. “You have been violated.”
According to a report by the Los Angeles Times on Sunday, the director and screenwriter — perhaps best known for his 1991 nominated Oscar-nominated screenplay Bugsy starring Warren Beatty and Annette Bening — has been accused of masturbating in front of and dry-humping women, among other acts.
“The way he presented it, it was like, ‘This is how things are done,’” actor Adrienne LaValley told the Times about a 2008 encounter with Toback where she said he rubbed his crotch on her leg. When she drew back, he then ejaculated in his pants.
“I felt like a prostitute, an utter disappointment to myself, my parents, my friends. And I deserved not to tell anyone,” LaValley said.
In all, 31 of the 38 women in the story spoke on the record and nearly all, interviewed separately, had similar stories about Toback engaging in inappropriate sexual behavior during interviews, auditions, or meetings.
The alleged incidents against Toback come in the wake of more than 50 allegations of sexual assault and harassment by Harvey Weinstein, another Hollywood figure, who is also accused of using his position in the industry to sexually harass women.
Toback, now 72, is said to have approached several women, some as young as high school age, in the streets of Manhattan, where he would introduce himself in attempt to establish his stature in the movie industry. He set up meetings with these women, telling them he would make them famous, the LA Times story recounts:
During these meetings, many of the women said, Toback boasted of sexual conquests with the famous and then asked humiliating personal questions. How often do you masturbate? How much pubic hair do you have? He’d tell them, they said, that he couldn’t properly function unless he “jerked off” several times a day. And then he’d dry-hump them or masturbate in front of them, ejaculating into his pants or onto their bodies and then walk away. Meeting over.
“He always wanted me to read for him in a hotel or come back to his apartment, like, ‘How serious are you about your craft?’” recalled Starr Rinaldi, who says she was approached by Toback 15 years ago in Central Park. "And the horrible thing is, whichever road you choose, whether you sleep with him or walk away, you’re still broken,” Rinaldi told the paper. “You have been violated.”
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