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James Toback has been accused of sexual harassment by more than 30 women via an exposé posted by the LA Times. Of the 38 women interviewed, 31 spoke on the record about their disturbing encounters with the Oscar-nominated director who used his prestige to lure potential victims.
Many of the women recounted their horrifying experiences with Toback, claiming that he would boast about his sexual prowess with celebrities before proceeding to ask some very uncomfortable personal questions like “How often do you masturbate?” and “How much pubic hair do you have?” He would talk about how many times he “jerked off” every day before dry-humping them or masturbating in front of them and ejaculating into his pants or onto their bodies. Then he would just walk away.
The writer-director recently attended the premiere of his latest movie, The Private Life of a Modern Woman, at the Venice Film Festival last month. He directed Robert Downey, Jr. in three movies and the Oscar nomination he nabbed was for writing the Warren Beatty movie, Bugsy. He was also instrumental in the films Black and White and Two Girls and a Guy.
Like Harvey Weinstein, the now 72-year-old Toback was a big, intimidating man with a reputation. Many of the women describe how they felt they had no other choice or how things could escalate if they said no. “The way he presented it, it was like, ‘This is how things are done,’” actress Adrienne LaValley said of a hotel room encounter with Toback in 2008. “I was shocked and frozen and didn’t know what to do. I thought if I resisted, it could get worse. He could overpower me.” said actress Terri Conn of a separate encounter.
While none of the women contacted the police at the time of these “meetings” and charges have yet to be filed, coming forward has proven to be a crucial first step. In the wake of Oscar-winning producer Harvey Weinstein being fired after reports of similar sexual misconduct, many women have been opening up about past harassment, abuse and assault. The hashtag campaign #MeToo is being utilized on social media by both celebrities and every-day women around the world to bring awareness to how prevalent sexual assault is in not just the film industry, but in our modern-day society.
Michael is a music and television junkie keen on most things that are not a complete and total bore. You can follow him on Twitter — @Tweetskoor
