WireImage/Elisabetta A. Villa(LOS ANGELES) — Director James Toback is the latest Hollywood figure to be accused of years of sexual harassment.
On Sunday the Los Angeles Times published a story in which 38 women alleged harassment by the 72-year-old director, who was nominated for an Oscar for writing the Warren Beatty movie Bugsy.
ABC News reached out to a rep for Toback, but didn’t immediately hear back.
Toback denied the allegations to the Times saying either that he had never met the accusers or that if he had it had been for “five minutes” and that he had “no recollection” of the alleged encounters.
The Times story detailed similar encounters — women saying they were randomly approached by Toback and offered an opportunity to be made a star, or women working with Toback being asked to take part in sexual encounters.
“The way he presented it, it was like, ‘This is how things are done,’” actress Adrienne LaValley told the Times, speaking of a 2008 encounter in which she claimed Toback trying to rub crotch against her leg. “I felt like a prostitute, an utter disappointment to myself, my parents, my friends. And I deserved not to tell anyone,” she said.
Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn took to Facebook to address the allegations alleging that Toback, “has done this to three girls I’ve dated, two of my very best friends, and a family member… twice. Yes, he came up to her twice with the same stupid line, not realizing she was the same person.”
Gunn claimed, “for over twenty years now, I’ve been bringing up James Toback every chance I could in groups of people. I couldn’t stop him, but I could warn people about him.”
Toback’s credits include The Pick Up Artist, starring Robert Downey Jr. and Molly Ringwald, along with Two Girls and a Guy, also starring Downey.
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