Entertainment

38 Women Accuse Director James Toback Of Sexual Harassment

(Photo: FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP/Getty Images)

Katie Jerkovich Entertainment Reporter
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Thirty-eight women came forward with accusations of sexual harassment against director James Toback in a story published Sunday by the Los Angles Times.

The women claimed that the 72-year-old director used his status in Hollywood to approach them and get them to come back to his hotel room, movie trailer, and to attend meetings framed as interviews or auditions to prove how serious they were about their craft.

A common line they said he used was, “My name’s James Toback. I’m a movie director. Have you seen ‘Black and White’ or ‘Two Girls and a Guy?'”

If they hadn’t, he’d then allegedly start name-dropping and claim to be close friends with stars like Robert Downey, Jr. and share that he “invented him” and promise that he could make them a star. But first he would have to get to know them intimately.

<> at Time Warner Center on October 24, 2013 in New York City. (photo: Getty Images)

James Toback at Time Warner Center on October 24, 2013 in New York City. (photo: Getty Images)

Actress Adrienne LaValley said of her interaction with the director in a hotel room in 2008, “The way he presented it, it was like, ‘This is how things are done.'” When she rejected him, he reportedly ejaculated into his pants.

“I felt like a prostitute, an utter disappointment to myself, my parents, my friends,” she explained. “And I deserved not to tell anyone.”

Another aspiring actress saw it as a test, to see how much she wanted to get into acting.

“In a weird sense, I thought, ‘This is a test of whether I’m a real artist and serious about acting,” Starr Rinadli shared after she claimed Toback approached her in Central Park in New York City 15 years ago. “He always wanted me to read for him in a hotel or come back to his apartment, like, ‘How serious are you about your craft?'”

When asked about the accusations against him, Toback said he either had never met any of them or if it he did it “was for five minutes and have no recollection.” He also claimed that he could not have done what the women claimed because it would have been “biologically impossible” due to his diabetes and heart condition that he had to take medication for.

Toback has been a director since his debut film “The Gambler” in 1974. His most recent film, “The Private Life of a Modern Woman” premiered at the Venice Film Festival this year. There were reportedly rumors about his “creepy” behavior, but the accusations by the women paint things as far more serious.

Thirty-one of the 38 women spoke on the record. None of them contacted the police at the time.