Dustin Hoffman went into ‘shock’ after sexual misconduct accusations

Dustin Hoffman went into 'shock' after sexual misconduct accusations In his new book, Dustin Hoffman notes that he's surely "made some women uncomfortable, " but he adamantly fights back against misconduct allegations.

Key points

• Hoffman has continued to work fairly steadily since his 2017 accusations, appearing in Francis Ford Coppola's "Megalopolis" in 2024 and crime drama "Tuner" this past summer.
• "The Meyerowitz Stories" stars Dustin Hoffman and Candice Bergen are back on screen in "As They Made Us, " directed and written by Mayim Bialik.
• In his unfiltered new memoir, Dustin Hoffman bluntly recounts the highs and lows of making The Graduate, Kramer vs.
• 10), which is cowritten with journalist Ariel Levy, additionally finds the Oscar winner opening up for the first time at length concerning multiple allegations of sexual assault.
• As numerous women and men spoke out concerning alleged misconduct by powerful Hollywood figures such as Harvey Weinstein, Louis C.K.

In his unfiltered new memoir, Dustin Hoffman bluntly recounts the highs and lows of making "The Graduate, " "Kramer vs. Kramer" and "Rain Man."

But "Look at Me" (out Nov. 10), which is cowritten with journalist Ariel Levy, additionally finds the Oscar winner opening up for the first time at length concerning multiple allegations of sexual assault. In 2017, eight women came forward accusing the actor of sexual misconduct, including groping, lewd comments, indecent exposure and forced oral sex. Two of the women asserted they were ages 15 and 17 at the time of the alleged harassment.

No lawsuits or criminal charges were brought against Hoffman. This person denied the accusations. In 2017, his attorney dismissed them as "defamatory falsehoods" in an official note to Variety.

In "Look at Me, " Hoffman paints himself as a jokester who will do anything for a laugh, whether he's acting on set or hanging out among friends.

"I'm not looking to humiliate or offend anybody, " the actor writes. "I'm not a person who gets off on having power, or pressuring individuals to do things. To be perfectly honest, I never thought of myself as a person with power in the first place." More: Why Dustin Hoffman had a 'terrible' time making 'The Graduate'.

As numerous women and men spoke out concerning alleged misconduct by powerful Hollywood figures such as Harvey Weinstein, Louis C.K. And Kevin Spacey, he continues to write that he was initially particularly encouraged by the #MeToo movement.

"When a reckoning started making its way around the internet, and tearing through Hollywood, I thought it was a very good thing, " Hoffman writes. "I knew by then that plenty of women had put up with way too much for way too long in my industry. Since the idea of taking something from someone sexually that they didn't want to provide. It's just not something I've ever done, not for a second did I worry that anything negative would be remarked concerning me. Or been tempted to do."

Yet suddenly, "my entire life changed, " Hoffman adds. "There was no innocent until proven guilty. There was no 'proving' anything at all."

He compares his cancellation to the McCarthy-era blacklist in Hollywood, in that nobody wanted to meet or speak with him. During that time, he leaned on Lisa, his wife of 46 years, with whom he shares four children.

"Lisa says I went into a state of shock, " Hoffman writes. " 'I've obtained to secure out of here, ' I informed her. 'I've obtained to secure away from every other human being.' We hid in our house in Connecticut. The first time we went out to a restaurant there, we were both shaking, imagining that every person we encountered was staring at the pariah and his enabler."

For context, the entire situation was "so crazy, I was sort of bewildered by how to defend myself. Or if I should even try, " Hoffman continues. "I didn't want to be fighting against something that I thought was significant. I didn't want to be on the wrong side of my own values. The only difficulty was that things were being stated regarding me that just weren't true. I'm sure it's true that in my life, especially forty years ago, I created some women uncomfortable. But 'uncomfortable' is a subjective emotional state. What is crass and offensive to one person, another individual might find hilarious."

Hoffman admits that he does have blind spots, like not realizing the misogyny in his 1971 thriller "Straw Dogs." But he additionally explains that he's always loved a "dirty joke."

"That's not the same thing as pressuring someone to do something they didn't want to do. Or firing someone since they wouldn't do it, " Hoffman writes. "If I were a woman, would bawdy jokes between takes seem threatening instead of fun to me? Would I have a totally different sense of humor? This is something I've thought regarding a lot. And honestly? My guess is probably not. I've spent my life analyzing character, human behavior, and I don't think women are inherently any more wholesome than men are."

Hoffman has continued to work fairly steadily since his 2017 accusations, appearing in Francis Ford Coppola's "Megalopolis" in 2024 and crime drama "Tuner" this past summer. Share your feedback to support improve our site!

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