Movie actor and Hollywood’s favourite anti-hero, Dustin Hoffman has recently come under the spotlight of sexual harassment as a third accuser comes forward with her account.
Kathryn Rossetter who worked with Hoffman during the 1983 revival of “Death of a Salesman” on Broadway wrote in a guest column for The Hollywood Reporter that her experience of working with the actor was “horrific, demoralising and abusive.”
Kathryn Rossetter’s allegation comes a month after author Anna Graham Hunter accused Hoffman of sexual misconduct.
Rossetter claimed that Hoffman was her “hero” at first as he helped her land the coveted acting gig, but things quickly took a turn as she claims the heralded A-lister began to make advances requesting back massages in hotel rooms and foot rubs in dressing rooms. She also wrote that he groped her during the encounters.
Rossetter wrote that as Hoffman’s behaviour escalated, he even tried to digitally penetrate her.
“He kept it up and got more and more aggressive. One night he actually started to stick his fingers inside me. Night after night I went home and cried,” she wrote. “I withdrew and got depressed and did not have any good interpersonal relationships with the cast. How could the same man who fought to get me the job, who complimented my work, essentially launched my career, who gave me the benefit of his wisdom as an actor, how could he also be this sexual power abuser?”
Hoffman’s rep declined to comment on this new allegation.
The production stage manager of the Broadway show Tom Kelly defended Hoffman and said, “It just doesn’t ring true. Given my position, it’s insulting to say this kind of activity would go on to the extent of sexual violation.”
Hoffman has been accused of sexual misconduct by two other accusers.
Of one of the claims, he said, “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.”
