Anna Graham Hunter came out recently and accused Dustin Hoffman of sexually harassing her during the casting of the TV film, “Death Of A Salesman,” in 1985. The Hollywood Reporter notes that she alleged the Hollywood actor occasionally made inappropriate sexual comments to her.
Secrets revealed
"I was a senior in high school in New York City, interning as a production assistant on the set of the "Death of a Salesman" TV film...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 will have a hard-boiled egg…and a soft-boiled clit*ris.
Anna then left Dustin and his entourage laughing, and went to the bathroom and cried.
Anna was 17 years old at the time these instances occurred. She recorded these experiences in a diary and sent messages to her sister detailing her encounters with some of the casting crew. At first, Anna said, she loved Dustin's comments until they started making her uncomfortable. Hoffman would ask Anna for foot massages, continuously make sexual remarks to her.
Hunter inquired into the reason for Dustin's occasional sexual comments to girls on set, but Hoffman found out and confronted her, "Anna! So you think I am a sexist pig, huh? Anna!" Anna reflected that she understood Dustin's behaviors but that it shows the kind of experiences women go through in Hollywood.
She says she regrets having been charmed by sexual comments from a man near the age of her father. "He was a predator, I was a child, and this was Sexual Harassment," Anna said.
Hoffman responds to allegations
Hoffman made a statement apologizing to Anna, The Sun reported, saying he respects all women and regrets making her feel uncomfortable.
He claims his actions at that time do not reflect the person he is right now. Though Hoffman never refrained from making sexual comments to her and when she was around him, Hunter felt disrespected and unsupported by her superiors, particularly her supervisor.
She said the supervisor not only reprimanded her for confronting Dustin but also encouraged her to let him have his way whenever he touched her.
She asked Anna to laugh and slap his hands whenever he attempted physical contact. Dustin Hoffman is not the only Hollywood actor accused of sexual harassment. Not more than two weeks ago, Kevin Spacey and Harvey Weinstein were also alleged to have sexually harassed women on set.
