Dustin Hoffman has come under intense public scrutiny after an old account of a sexual encounter involving apparent deception resurfaced online.
In the story, Hoffman, who was only 15 at the time, described making out with a 20-year-old woman while pretending to be his older brother, Ronny.
The Rain Man actor has also previously been accused of sexual assault and inappropriate behavior by multiple women.
Dustin Hoffman’s description of his first sexual encounter in an unearthed December 2004 issue of Playboy magazine has resurfaced online, drawing intense criticism over the apparent lack of informed consent.
The Tootsie actor was asked how he lost his virginity and responded by recounting what happened during a party thrown by his older brother, Ronny.
Hoffman explained that his parents were away at the time and that he was happy Ronny had allowed him to attend, even though he was only 15 and his brother was seven years older.
He noted that at around 1 or 2 a.m., he saw several boys lined up outside one of the bedrooms. They invited him inside, where they were allegedly taking turns with a “beautiful older woman” named Barbara.
Hoffman described Barbara, whom he said was around 20, as a “nymphomaniac,” an outdated term used to characterize a woman as having an abnormally excessive or uncontrollable sexual desire.
Hoffman Passed Off As His Brother To Make Out With Her
4When Hoffman eventually entered the room, which he noted was quite dark, Barbara allegedly mistook him for his older brother and asked, “Is that you, Ronny?” Hoffman said he lied and claimed to be Ronny out of “fear that she’d reject me.”
The encounter continued for about 20 minutes until someone opened the door, allowing Barbara to see that Hoffman was not the person she believed he was. According to the actor, she began screaming.
“She was shocked just because I wasn’t my brother,” Hoffman said when asked if she had been traumatized. “I jumped off her, stark naked, and left the room.”
He added that “what was disturbing about it” was that he “couldn’t get laid again for another two years” after the encounter.
Fans Question Key Details In Hoffman’s Account
4The account left many social media users disturbed, with several pointing to the apparent lack of informed consent between Hoffman and Barbara.
“He’s a creep,” a Reddit user wrote. “I work in TV and film, and RECENTLY a colleague of mine in the costume dept was approached by someone on Hoffman’s team because he was a male costumer and offered him a job to be his on-set dresser because they couldn’t hire a female costumer because, quote, ‘he is too handsy with women.’”
Another commenter questioned the credibility of Hoffman’s account, writing, “One woman in a dark room with a line of men waiting sounds plausible to you? I have never met a woman who would do that, unless there was something really dark (drugs, abuse) going on.”
“And why did she scream when she saw it wasn’t his brother if she had consented to being with all these different men? Why say ‘Ronny, is that you?’ Why scream, if she was there willingly? Why the dark room? The story doesn’t add up,” they added.
Dustin Hoffman Has Faced Multiple Misconduct Allegations
4Over his decades-long career, Hoffman has faced multiple sexual assault and harassment allegations from different women.
In November 2017, writer Anna Graham Hunter publicly shared a detailed account of her time as a 17-year-old production assistant on the set of the 1985 television movie Death of a Salesman. She alleged that Hoffman groped her, made sexually explicit comments, and created a hostile work environment.
“He asked me to give him a foot massage my first day on set; I did,” she wrote in The Hollywood Reporter. “He was openly flirtatious; he grabbed my -ss; he talked about sex to me and in front of me.”
She continued, “One morning I went to his dressing room to take his breakfast order; he looked at me and grinned, taking his time. Then he said, ‘I’ll have a hard-boiled egg … and a soft-boiled clitoris.’ His entourage burst out laughing. I left, speechless. Then I went to the bathroom and cried.”
Dustin Hoffman Apologized After Anna Graham Hunter’s Claims
4Later that year, playwright Cori Thomas also described an alleged incident involving Hoffman. She claimed that he exposed himself to her in a New York hotel room when she was a 16-year-old friend of his daughter, per NBC News.
Actress Kathryn Rossetter, who co-starred with Hoffman in Death of a Salesman, also wrote in The Hollywood Reporter that he subjected her to a “horrific, demoralizing and abusive experience” during their time together.
She described an incident in which he allegedly embarrassed her by grabbing the bottom of her slip and pulling it over her head, thereby “exposing my breasts and body to the crew and covering my face.”
“Night after night I went home and cried. I withdrew and got depressed and did not have any good interpersonal relationships with the cast,” she said.
The Oscar winner previously responded to Hunter’s accusations with an apology, while saying the alleged conduct was “not reflective of who I am.” Regarding the other allegations, Hoffman and his representatives either declined to comment or denied specific claims.
