Dustin Hoffman Reflects on #MeToo Support and Sexual Misconduct Allegations
Dustin Hoffman discusses his support for #MeToo and his shock at sexual misconduct allegations in his memoir.
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Academy Award-winning actor Dustin Hoffman has shared his reflections on his support for the #MeToo movement and his personal experience with sexual misconduct allegations in his memoir, Look at Me. Hoffman, known for his iconic roles in films like The Graduate and Rain Man, expressed his admiration for the movement that emerged in 2017 following the New York Times’ investigation into Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.
“When a reckoning started making its way around the internet and tearing through Hollywood, I thought it was a very good thing,” Hoffman wrote. “I knew by then that plenty of women had put up with way too much for way too long in my industry. Not for a second did I worry that anything negative would be said about me, because the idea of taking something from someone sexually that they didn’t want to give … it’s just not something I’ve ever done. Or been tempted to do.”
Despite his support for the movement, Hoffman soon found himself at the center of allegations of sexual misconduct. He was accused by eight women of inappropriate behavior, including indecent exposure, lewd comments, and forced oral sex. Hoffman expressed bewilderment at the accusations, stating, “I was sort of bewildered by how to defend myself … or if I should even try.”
“I didn’t want to be fighting against something that I thought was important. I didn’t want to be on the wrong side of my own values,” he wrote. “The only problem was that things were being said about me that just weren’t true. I’m sure it’s true that in my life, especially forty years ago, I made some women uncomfortable. … But ‘uncomfortable’ is a subjective emotional state. What is crass and offensive to one person, another individual might find hilarious.”
Hoffman acknowledged his past behavior, stating, “At the time of the allegations, Hoffman public said that he felt ‘terrible that anything I might have done could have put her in an uncomfortable situation,’ adding that it is not reflective of his character.”
In his memoir, Hoffman also reflected on how the allegations forced him to consider his own behavior and how he might have made women feel. “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 about a lot,” he wrote. “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.”
Source: Breitbart
