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During a Q&A for the 20th anniversary of Wag the Dog, Hoffman claimed he'd been railroaded and said he respected women because he played the lead role in Tootsie.
In November, Oscar-winning actor Dustin Hoffman apologized for sexually harassing a then-17-year-old Anna Graham Hunter on the set of the 1985 TV movie Death of a Salesman, saying, "I have the utmost respect for women and feel terrible that anything I might have done could have put her in an uncomfortable situation..I am sorry. It is not reflective of who I am."
But during a tense panel at New York City's 92nd Street Y for the 20th anniversary of Barry Levinson's political satire Wag the Dog (in which sexual harassment plays a role) Hoffman's glib responses to moderator John Oliver's pressing him about the allegations (since his apology a second woman came forward alleging harassment) indicate that not only has Hoffman avoided self-reflection since the allegations came out, but he's also not actually sorry, according to Deadline.
In addition to Oliver and Hoffman, Levinson, the film's other star Robert DeNiro, and producer Jane Rosenthal made up the panel that began with a discussion of the film but turned to the current state of Hollywood, which, of course, includes the downfall of powerful men since The New York Times broke its story about serial predator Harvey Weinstein in early October.
Since Weinstein's fall and the #MeToo movement's rise, the onus has been on women in Hollywood to make themselves vulnerable and address their experiences in the business whenever the press is involved, so it was refreshing that Oliver, the host of HBO's Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, asked Levinson to weigh in on the pervasive nature of sexual harassment, according to Deadline." Levinson managed a thoughtful response about the current atmosphere, but it was quickly eclipsed by what followed," the site reports -- Hoffman bristled when Oliver grilled him.
"You've made one statement in print," Oliver said to Hoffman regarding the apology. "Does that feel like enough to you?"
"First of all, it didn't happen, the way she reported," Hoffman responded, saying he was spurred to craft an apology at the insistence of his reps.
But Oliver was unmoved and continued to dissect the apology, particularly the part about his behavior not being reflective of his values.
"It's that part of the response to this stuff that pisses me off. It is reflective of who you were. You've given no evidence to show that it didn't happen," Oliver said. "There was a period of time when you were a creeper around women. It feels like a cop-out to say, 'Well, this isn't me.' Do you understand how that feels like a dismissal?"
As Hoffman fired back that Oliver couldn't possibly know what it was because he wasn't there, the audience began to get restless, with some shouting to move on with the questioning, others thanking Oliver for standing up for women, and some exiting the premises, according to Deadline.
"You've put me on display here, you have indicted me. ... That's not innocent until proven guilty," Hoffman said, despite the multiple accusations and his public apology. "The so-called, alleged comments that are made are truth now. And if you try to defend it, you're guilty."
Still, Oliver stayed the course, explaining that since there are themes of sexual harassment in Wag the Dog, it would be especially remiss to fail to address it in a real fashion.
"I can't leave certain things unaddressed," Oliver said. "That leads to me at home later tonight hating myself, asking, 'Why the fuck didn't I say something? No one stands up to powerful men.'"
That led Hoffman to show his true colors, which include failing to recognize his privilege as an Oscar-winning power player in Hollywood for decades.
"Am I the powerful man?" Hoffman said, looking at Levinson for validation.
Worst of all, Hoffman, who turned in a memorable comic performance as an out-of-work actor posing as a female soap star because no one would hire him in 1982's Tootsie, said that he couldn't have made that movie if he didn't respect women. He then claimed to understand what women endure their entire lives because he went out in makeup and costume as the character Dorothy Michaels after shooting one night.
"How could I have made that movie if I didn't have incredible respect for women?" Hoffman said, perhaps not realizing that Donald Trump, who admitted to grabbing women without consent, also claims to have the utmost respect for women.
