So I won’t have to embed 20 million tweets, I’m just going to do my best to summarize what went down at a 20th anniversary panel discussion and screening of Wag the Dog. Wag the Dog came out in 1997 and it starred Dustin Hoffman, Robert DeNiro, Anne Heche, Denis Leary, William H. Macy and more. I don’t remember the film being the best thing ever, or even that worthy of commemoration after twenty years, but whatever. The panel and screening took place at the Tribeca Film Institute. For some reason, they thought it would be a good idea to get Dustin Hoffman on the panel, even though the last time we spoke about Hoffman, it was because multiple women came forward with their stories of his serial sexual harassment, abuse and assault. They also thought it would be a good idea to get John Oliver to HOST the panel discussion. Sh-t got messy in a hurry.
First, John Oliver didn’t shy away from asking Hoffman directly about the accusations of sexual harassment and assault. According to eyewitnesses – there were assorted film critics and entertainment journalists in attendance – Hoffman “grew visibly uncomfortable” with Oliver’s questions and Hoffman snapped, “You weren’t there,” and Oliver said back, “I’m happy I wasn’t.” The beef seemed to settle down for a few minutes, then Hoffman brought it up again, accusing Oliver of “not keeping an open mind” and “unquestionably believing accusers.” Oh, here’s some good coverage from Deadline (they must have had a reporter in the room):
Then, about 20 minutes in, Oliver brought up the current climate around sexual harassment in show business, saying he was going to go “around the room” to gauge all panelists’ sentiments. (Later, when Hoffman would complain about having been ambushed, Oliver said it was “on the organizers” for not conveying his stated intention to bring up the ultra-hot-button topic.)
…Warning it was “likely to be the tensest part of the evening,” Oliver started in with Hoffman. The tension would linger for 30 agonizing minutes as the two engaged in an anguished back and forth centering on the actor’s deeds and the response to his response to the allegations. “You’ve made one statement in print,” Oliver said. “Does that feel like enough to you?” Hoffman replied, “First of all, it didn’t happen, the way she reported.” He said his apology over the incident, offered, he said, at the insistence of his reps, was widely misconstrued “at the click of a button.” But the Last Week Tonight host seized on the portion of the actor’s public apology, in which Hoffman said the events that happened on set didn’t reflect who he is as a person.
“It’s that part of the response to this stuff that pisses me off,” Oliver said. “It is reflective of who you were. You’ve given no evidence to show that it didn’t happen. There was a period of time when you were creeping around women. It feels like a cop-out to say, ‘Well, this isn’t me.’ Do you understand how that feels like a dismissal?” Hoffman shot back, “You weren’t there.” Oliver responded, “I’m glad,” drawing gasps from the well-heeled audience, many of whom had paid hefty ticket prices.
“You’ve put me on display here,” Hoffman told Oliver, seething but never raising his voice or leaving his seat. “You have indicted me. … That’s not innocent until proven guilty.” Hoffman tried to put it in historical context, saying sometimes the atmosphere on set decades ago involved sexually charged banter, which he said was not meant in an offensive way. ‘I don’t love that answer either,” Oliver said, cringing. “What response do you want?” Hoffman demanded. “It doesn’t feel self-reflective in the way it seems the incident demands,” Oliver explained, adding, “I get no pleasure from this conversation. But you and I are not the victims here.”
When Oliver quoted from an account Hoffman’s accuser wrote, the actor asked Oliver, incredulous, “Do you believe this stuff you’re reading?” Oliver said he did “because she would have no reason to lie.”
As this went on, the other panelists largely stayed mum. The audience seemed divided — some in the well-heeled crowd, who had forked over hundreds of dollars to spend the night re-living a Clintonian satire, took offense at Oliver staying on the issue. “Move on!” one person shouted. “He thinks it’s funny,” sputtered one man as he escorted his wife out of the theatre. Others applauded when Oliver expressed his view. “Thank you for believing women!” one woman called out. The spasms of conflict and accusation were followed by long stretched of silence, during which no one in the theatre knew quite what to do…After about 15 minutes, Hoffman appeared to have persuaded some in the crowd, but he voluntarily returned to the topic and re-engaged with Oliver. When Levinson and Oliver agreed that social media has distorted politics and culture, Hoffman interjected, “Well, it’s affected you in terms of your feelings about me.” While the audience applauded, the line opened up a gut-wrenching 15-minute sequence that closed the night.
“The so-called, alleged comments that are made are truth now,” Hoffman fumed. “And if you try to defend it, you’re guilty.” Oliver granted, “I see where you’re coming from,” but insisted, “it’s a little more complicated than that.” Several times, he expressed anxiety over ruining the audience’s night and the experience of watching the film again. And yet, “I can’t leave certain things unaddressed,” Oliver conceded. “That leads to me at home later tonight hating myself, asking, ‘Why the f–k didn’t I say something? No one stands up to powerful men.’” Hoffman asked Levinson, incredulously, “Am I the powerful man?” Levinson said, “I wasn’t sure what the reference was, which powerful men.”
Go and read the entire Deadline piece if you want to feel dead inside. Towards the end of the conversation, Hoffman claimed he had respect for women because he did Tootsie, which… no. There were accusations about his harassment and abuse of women post-Tootsie, and saying he played an actor who pretended to be a woman and therefore he has respect for women is absolute bullsh-t. Hoffman’s responses here were absolutely awful, and the responses were a classic example of a serial predator doing everything to justify his abuse, gaslight his victims and act like he is the “real victim” in the situation.
You can debate whether John Oliver should have gone head-to-head with Hoffman at this particular event, but I say Oliver had every right. I’m glad he made everyone so uncomfortable. At one point, apparently Jane Rosenthal (DeNiro’s longtime producing partner) claimed that the sexual harassment discussion had no place on this particular panel because “It wasn’t produced by Weinstein Co. or Miramax, so you don’t have a really big conversation. Kevin Spacey wasn’t starring in it. Let’s look at real sexual criminal predators.” Dear Jane: you’re part of the problem. Just because Dustin Hoffman wasn’t a serial rapist or child molester doesn’t mean that he didn’t systematically abuse his power and hurt women for YEARS.
Photos courtesy of Getty.
It takes guts to start this conversation and put Hoffman on the spot because I am sure nobody’s doing that because of the “this is not the place to talk about this” reason. You go, John Oliver, R.E.S.P.E.C.T. to you!
Co-sign. Thank you for trying, John Oliver
(Also – I seem to remember Wag the Dog was a bit shit. If THAT gets a twentieth anniversary shin-dig, should we expect a similar celebration for The Emoji Movie in 20 years??)
Yes, if you wait for the right time you’ll be waiting forever. There’s an army of PR people saying “no questions about x y z” every time a scandal breaks but journalists shouldn’t give in, not when it’s about more than a matter of privacy. They did that with Casey Affleck.
Hoffman will recover, he won’t lose his career but he absolutely deserves to feel embarrassed and uncomfortable, and to answer tough questions.
Frosty, you rock!! The film was heavy handed “satire” loved and pushed by some critics. It likely got a pass because satire is so rarely attempted by Hollywood.
+2
Yes go John Oliver for continuing to go there and plainly stating that they are not the victims. John Oliver is awesome
John Oliver has a talent for saying exactly the right thing and asking the hard questions. It doesn’t surprise me that he did this. I love the guy.
John Oliver. Terry Crews. That’s two good ones. Can anyone think of more? I could use a list of “Guys who Get It” to look at when I’m feeling like there’s no hope ever.
So far Kevin Smith seems to get it, as well.
Personally, I thought quite highly of Ryan Coogler’s statement. I feel like he gets it.
Also, Lin-Manuel Miranda, because he’s Lin-Manuel Miranda and I’d be devastated if he didn’t got it. 😀
Kudos to John Oliver for doing this – hopefully he’ll be an example to other guys who don’t want to have the hard conversations. There are some good guys out there who seem to get it (although I’m always a little nervous that something awful will come out about one of them).
I’d add Anthony Rapp and Adam Horovitz.
It’s not a long list so far, depressingly.
I absolutely ADORE John Oliver. I got into his show last year and ended up watching every episode to catch up. There’s been some bits on his show that made me laugh so hard I cried. I also loved when he blew up the 2016 numbers in lights with a huge explosion. It was the perfect ending for the shittastical year 2016 was.
I think he showed a lot of courage here to go after someone of Hoffman’s caliber. Anyone who’s worked in the entertainment business knows that “talent” follows a different set of rules than mere mortals, and within talent there’s a pecking order (like who’s number one of the call sheet.) The first movie I worked on was shot in 1997 in Boston and I worked with William Hurt (who I was a big fan of). He terrorized the entire crew. You weren’t allowed to make eye contact with him. You couldn’t speak to him unless he spoke to you first. He was a newly recovering alcoholic and so evidently that only compounded the situation. There was one day on set that I was assigned to him, so it was just him and me in this small vestibule in a church in downtown Boston. We were five feet from each other, so it was very awkward. He finally started talking to me about the fact that I was from Texas, etc, and was actually kind of nice to me. But he was responsible for several crew members (mostly production assistant’s like me) being fired from set.
My point is that actors of Hoffman’s stature are used to having their asses kissed and people slavishly praising them ad nauseum. It takes a lot of balls for John Oliver to confront him about this issue and I’m here for it.
John Oliver, is a fucking rock star. Oh that there were more men like him.
I say John Oliver is a bloody hero.
Fuck etiquette and “a time and a place”.
Ditto Sixer.
Agreed.
You know someone has skewed priorities when a breach of etiquette is considered worse than harassment. This insistence on politesse is transparently a way to silence the victims. Of course it’s not a polite topic! It’s a crime! And the fault rests with the perpetrator!
YUP! THIS! +100000000000000000000000000000000000000
Guts and integrity!! It is people, men in particular as this case was regarding a man abusing his power, like John Oliver that help the tides turn enormously in favor of protecting a victims right to speak out. To be heard and believed. I applaud you, John.
I am no longer a Hoffman fan. Sadly, I used to love his films and interviews. He came across as obtuse, unapologetic, overly defensive and repetitive. Not believable. Not insightful. Certainly not remorseful.
YES! I have MAD respect for John Oliver. He’s just showed us that he is not just playing a part on his show. He has put his money where is mouth is!!!!
John gets all the rounds of applause.
Props to him. Many others in his position would have softball-ed the discussion but he went HARD for us. This is how you behave like an ally.
Imagine if interviewers would have done the same to Casey Affleck.
FOR REAL! This made me delightedly uncomfortable to read. That must have been one of the most uncomfortable things Oliver has ever done (because, let’s be real – this situation is utterly devoid of anything humorous!) . I appreciate that he doesn’t let it rest. I have always disliked Hoffman. Even in film he comes across as being too self-aware, too camera-aware, and too smug. I do not think he’s a *bad* actor. I do not think he’s worthy of any of the applause he gets, though. What has he done that someone else couldn’t have done (and better)? I appreciate the insistence some have on not instantly judging a situation *solely* based on one person’s accusations. But this isn’t one person. It hasn’t been in any of the cases brought to public light. It’s multiple people. I’m not saying to not believe just one person when they say something happened (I believe that we should), only that I understand the impulse many have to wait until they find out the facts to make a judgment. Nevertheless, when we have tons of facts pouring in from multiple sources……kinda hard to get people to excuse your behavior by saying it didn’t happen “the way they said it did.” Okay, Dusty. You keep telling yourself that if it helps you sleep at night.
So we cant talk about sexual harassment if its not Harvey Weinstein or Kevin Spacey (or Matt Lauer?)
Bullshit. That attitude is exactly part of the problem. It doesn’t have to be assault to be wrong, and it doesn’t have to be rape to be assault.
Exactly! I am so bothered by that kind of reasoning. Weinstein and co. are the end result of this kind of disgusting behavior that gets excused, minimized, explained away, and normalized, providing cover for the monsters who use it as a shield for their reputation. Behavior such as Hoffman’s was what Weinstein was talking about when he tried to say his behavior belonged in the 70s.
And does Hoffman think he ISN’T a powerful man?
Yes I think Hoffman doesn’t think he is a powerful man. He always presents himself as the artist who is abused by the corporate world, and would die for his art. Plus I think he has a bit of short man complex to, very similar to Woody Allen. Aside from the sexual abuse incidents, my understanding was he was always kind of a jerk to everyone especially when doing a movie. In the abuser category it’s not one size fits all, some of them have different motives for their abuse and harassment.
And the whole blaming social media thing… damn that social media for giving women a platform and allowing them to bring to light behavior that people have turned a blind eye to for far too long.
Right you are, Becks. This is going to be the “reasoning” behind every “look over there ” excuse.
Sigh. John Oliver is my favorite nerd.
I’m glad that he asked the question and the fact that it was Hoffman that wouldn’t let it drop screams volumes. He looked awful and dismissive when he realized he wasn’t controlling the narrative the way he thought he would.
Go John! More men in positions of power need to be stepping up like this and confronting these assholes.
Love John Oliver, love , love, love what he did here.
This is what I’ve been waiting for someone to do to one of these creeps. Every interviewer who’s talked to one of them has just been asking soft ball, pre-arranged questions, and not following up on the problematic answers. Oliver actually went all in.
As for it not being the time and place, as long as people like Hoffman are still invited to these events it’ll be exactly the right time and place for these conversations.
And, uh, this move was about a sexual harassment scandal. Very much the elephant in the room as John said. Dustin Hoffman is unbelievably arrogant if he thought this wouldn’t be addressed, given the interviewer and film.
John Oliver, you saucy minx! Thank you!
And to these men who get SO hot and bothered because sexual assault and crimes about women are discussed, why so angry? Did it hit a nerve? And to DeNiro’s producer, you’re part of the problem! Was she part of the legion of white women who voted for trump too? So sick of all of this. #burnitdownsis
Good for John Oliver…I am standing on my sofa applauding. We desperately need more uncomfortable conversations. We need to push the idea it is wrong and morally despicable to use the excuses to say it was so long ago, it was era…balls it has never been acceptable to touch without permission or say sexually charged comments to anyone at anytime. We had a doctor who would take off my shirt age nine to 16 no matter the reason I was there ingrown toe nail or whatever…I remember shivering with cold as he checked me out for prepubescent breast maladies. It was so long ago but the memory of my shame and discomfort has not faded with time.
What?! Rosalee?! I am so sorry. You were a child and that should NOT have happened to you. That doctor is a criminal and should be in jail. You are so brave for sharing.
I’ve been in situations before where I’ve been touched inappropriately by boys when I was a kid. It’s terrifying. Now as a 31 year old I see how wrong that was, but I also now see that I didn’t do anything wrong. I was a deer in headlights. Just wanted the touching to stop. And when it did, I just wanted to forget about it. Now I have my own children (2 boys and a daughter) and I’m teaching all three about consent (non verbal especially), respect, and kindness.
What a creep, Rosalee. I’m so sorry you had to live through that.
JFC. i am so sorry you had to go through that.
Disgusting *hugs*. I’m going to make darn sure I’m always in the room during my kids and to question things. Thank you for pointing out the danger.
goodness, i am so soorry for the trauma you endured Rosalee and Margo. i was a ‘tomboy’ back then and had been suspended and sent home on various occasions because i hit back when some boys tried to touch my breasts to see if i was a ‘real girl’. the teachers did nothing to reprimand them, instead blaming me for not being a proper girl. i was lucky that my mum and dad would never blame me for defending myself. although, i must admit now that i look back, the moves my dad taught me could have seriously injured them had i been stronger or bigger.
If they think questions about sexual harassment and assault are uncomfortable, try being a victim of both and see how that feels!
Bullies silence voices they don’t like. Hoffman and rep were trying to silence Oliver.
Exactly this, thank you. I love everything John Oliver said here, he reacted so swiftly. Props to him
Good for Oliver. But I don’t have as much hope as others that the recent revelations about powerful men and their misogyny and predatory behaviour will create a seismic change. (Hoffman played Tootsie so he’s not misogynistic? OMG)
Our politicians are getting a pass for horrible behaviour, specifically baby fists and his band of amoral Republicans, all cloaked in religiosity.
Casey Affleck is totally breathing a sigh of relief that this exploded now and not last year. I can’t see any scenario where he is back presenting those awards he won.
He’s also probably begging everybody not to put him in the spotlight – about anything. Not even getting a new puppy or something. As soon as his face appears somewhere, the accusations will resurface.
He does not deserve a puppy.
Actually, he released a totally entitled statement calling out Armie Hammer for going after him. Somehow, his statement didn’t get any backlash.
I didn’t even notice Casey responded to Armie. It’s hard to keep up with everything. I’m trying to though because it’s important.
John Oliver deserves a lot of respect for having chosen to address the massive elephant in the room and refused to go with everyone’s normalcy bias.
Dustin Hoffman’s reaction was tragically predictable and, sadly enough, it is close to what could constitute a decent apology if Hoffman were more self-reflective and less normalising. Namely, when he states that the atmosphere on movie sets “back then” was sexually charged, he is absolutely right ! It was considered ok, “back then”, to make sexual comments around every woman one encountered; it was fine, “back then”, to grab a boob or slap a bum; etc.
It was all ok, all fine… Hell, it was even promoted and celebrated ! It was a way to bound with one’s fellow men on set, to be viewed as a “man’s man” and the women had no other choice but to pretend to be comfortable with it, for fear of being perceived as killjoys or weak or shrew-y.
Hoffman is right to remind everyone of the historical context. He can even be right to note that peer-pressure is operative when it comes to systemic abuse (a guy who does not take part in the objectification of women is not a “bro”, he is a sissy, etc.) However, he is damn wrong to use it as a way to escape from personal responsibility or to question the effect his behaviour has had on women ! That is remarkably cowardly and shows how utterly dismissive he is of the people who have come forward.
Well said! “It was a way to bond with one’s fellow men on set”: this is such a big part of it.
It’s also not just sexual: it’s also a way to sideline women — to make them feel they don’t belong there and push them out of the available jobs.
The article below is so useful in that it describes what lower-level people in theater deal with; including this quote:
“They talk about what they want to do to their girlfriends. There are micro-aggressions, like them telling me I’m not strong enough to move a box, then they tell me they like watching me push a box so they can watch my ass.”
https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-sexual-abuse-and-harassment-scandals-blowing-up-on-broadway
The undercurrent is: you’re not equal here; if you don’t already feel uncomfortable and out of place just trying to do your job, I’m going to make damn sure that you do. And all this in a purported context of cost-saving and productivity: letting a-holes waste time and resources like this and push out qualified team members. The work culture that values this power kabuki over productivity and creating actual value HAS TO STOP. Argh.
Well said, Ally. I also think those comments are meant to communicate to women that they need to have sexual value to be in the room.
In response to Oliver’s references to the behavior Hoffman exhibited during Death of Salesman, the meeting with the playwright, etc., the 80 year old Hoffman responded by talking instead about The Graduate filming with Katharine Ross. He seemed to think that’s what Oliver was referring to. I guess it may be due in part to his age but Hoffman was cleally not understanding that Oliver was talking about the more recent stuff (the 1980s).
And maybe he is mixing up Ross with Kathryn Rosseter.
Right on John Oliver. This is exactly what we need from our male allies. This conversation has been steered away so many times in the past out of sheer discomfort. I’m glad we realize how unimportant that is now.
i hope Oliver gets mad props and support in a visible way so as to shiled hime and encourage more hardline journalists coming out in support for the survivorsand victims
I was reading about this last night and it just deepened my love of John Oliver even more. I’m so disappointed that LWT is done for the season, it can’t come back soon enough!
Thank you, John Oliver.
John Oliver is amazing!!! I already loved and respected him for bringing up and talking about subjects that no one else is, but this just brought him up to a whole new level of admiration for me. I have had a hard time since the Harvey story dropped dealing with my own rape and childhood molestation, but this story actually made me happy. F the poor poor men’s feelings or making people uncomfortable the only people who deserve our sympathy are the victims. I am tired of stories coming out about all these men, I mean dirt bags coming out and then nothing happens. The very least that needs to happen is people having the balls to call them out like John Oliver did. Let’s stop trying to hide or protect rapist and abusers just because it makes us uncomfortable, because that makes us at the very least an accessory to these crimes.
I’m sorry that happened to you. ❤️
It’s absurd to bring on a social/political/media critic like John Oliver and expect him not to ask these questions. Aside from his own sense of personal responsibility, he would have been excoriated as complicit if he had not done so.
Two ways in which the discussion is relevant re: Wag the Dog specifically. The movie plays on the idea that a sitting president’s geopolitical actions may be motivated by his desire to cover up his sexual misdeeds, with a possible parallel to Bill Clinton and his involvement in the Balkans. In Wag the Dog, specifically, the President is caught making advances on an underage girl a few weeks before election day. Wave hello, Roy Moore.
Also, Hoffman was playing a version of Robert Evans, whose reputation as a seducer may bear some scrutiny in light of current reassessments of acceptable work behavior in Hollywood. (He mentored Brett Ratner for several years, was friends with Polanski, and see the anecdote about Joe Eszterhas cited here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Evans)
All this to say, Wag The Dog + Dustin Hoffman = questions justifiably relevant to the movie.
Exactly what I was thinking! Definitely relevant, and not a problem to me if it makes someone uncomfortable. It’s about time old white guys learned what it’s like to be uncomfortable.
As if I didn’t love John Oliver enough! This is exactly what he and other talk show hosts should do. Ask the hard questions!
Have some balls, FFS!
You go John Oliver! Hoffman is a misogynist and a bully – and way over rated as an actor imo
“But you and I are not the victims here.” Yes. I am sick, literally sick, of hearing perpetrators paint themselves as victims. Maybe you didn’t set out to hurt a woman, but you did and that doesn’t make you a victim, it makes you an abuser.
He had a 40-year celebrated career. The women he and his ilk harassed were blackballed or left the industry in dejection and disgust. FFS. Enjoy your victimhood in your mansion(s).
Exactly. Being asked to answer for the wrongs you have done doesn’t make you a victim. It’s cost you nothing, and the only ones paying the price are victims.
Hoffman: eff you for instead of mentoring and supporting young women who came to you for help, you just hit on them and didn’t lift a finger for them when they weren’t into it. And eff you to all men like him.
With one of the writers of Tootsie, which dealt with this kind of behavior explicitly and condemned it! I can’t even.
I hate the argument that you can’t talk about certain things at certain events. I mean I’m not bringing up starving children at a wedding but when the conversation goes there, I’m going there! I’ve endured so many ruined evenings (ruined for me) because I chose to be polite and not ruin someone’s birthday so I let the assh*le be openly misogynistic or just insulting and offensive. I’m over it. If you don’t want my opinion, don’t invite me when you know an assh*le will be present. Why should MY evening be the only one that’s ruined? No more.
Why did they ask JO to be the host if they didn’t want him to go there? If anyone was going to hold Hoffman’s feet to the fire, it was him. He’s not Colbert, whose show demands a certain kind of vanilla questioning and depends on guests. Oliver is on HBO and has proven more than once that he doesn’t care as much as others. He’s also smart and quick. Someone which Hoffman clearly is not.
Same here. We don’t have bloody etiquette around abuse, thankyouverymuch.
I quite like it that it was a Brit who did this, when our national stereotype is all about etiquette!
Yes, yes, yes!!!
None of them should ever feel comfortable stepping in front of the public again WITHOUT having to answer for what they did. They should never ever feel comfortable again period.
That is the LEAST they deserve and it still won’t make what they put their actual victims through right.
This is the only way to affect REAL change and I love John Oliver for this. Don’t let them hide!!
Go John!! <3
Slightly OT, but for the last two days CBS Morning Show has had three women as the anchors and it is FINE!
Love it too.
More reasons to love John Oliver. The only way to keep this stuff from being swept back under the carpet is if male allies keep hammering away like Oliver did.
I EFFING LOVE JOHN OLIVER!!! He is a hero to me for going head to head with Hoffman. Can you imagine being him in that room knowing that NO ONE is going to willingly cooperate?! Preach king!
I am very glad he went there and if Hoffman is uncomfortable with how it turned out, he should have shut up and stopped bringing it up. It was okay to demean women 35 years ago? Really? You made an entire famous movie about how that atmosphere poisoned women’s lives. If you can’t own your complicity, go away.
Hoffman confessed to raping his brother’s girlfriend. He’s already outed himself.
I forget the source of it but it was found that when when questioned, people will admit to committing actions of sexual assault and rape as long as the label isn’t applied. Hoffman was telling a “bro” story and laughed about tricking an intoxicated woman into sleeping with him.
Yes! This should never be forgotten. He is not just a serial harasser but a rapist as well. This poor drugged woman thought she was having sex with Dustin’s brother.
God, that story sickened me when I heard it. The fact that he thought this was a ‘charming’ anecdote he could share in a public forum tells me all I need to know about him.
John Oliver is the one that has courage to go on the hard issues, Hollywood fake actors pretending that they are sad or furious with abuse and harassment allegations is just a front to protect the,selfs from the public opinion.
Hollywood will keep working with abusers, rapists, and violent addicts forever, they will just cover their views better now but will keep defending “the artists” like Polanski, Casey affleck, Allen, depp, etc etc.
John Oliver is the one asking the hard questions, the others are just making monologues but inventing the abusers to their shows, working with them defending the “nice” guys they are.
Hollywood is not a moral compass to be listened when it is full with hypocrisy
There is video now! It is a must watch. I appreciate John Oliver must more now. Dustin Hoffman just got owned and I completely appreciate it. Hoffman was disgusting.
http://www.pajiba.com/celebrities_are_better_than_you/heres-video-of-john-olivers-spat-with-dustin-hoffman-who-does-not-acquit-himself-well.php
Oh wow, they weren’t kidding when they said it was tense. DH comes off so badly. The audience actually groaned when he questioned why it was brought up after 40 years.
Movie stars live in a bubble; constantly being deferred to and flattered. No wonder he was so shocked by JO.
I love John Oliver. Always have, always will.
But i lost every ounce of respect for Hoffmann, but more so for all the sycophants that surround people like him.
Bullies and narcissists.
And funnily, i could never watch a Hoffmann movie without feeling slightly uncomfortable. Now i know why.
I watched that interview and I cringed a little. Was it a good time to discuss this? My conclusion is yes. But there really are no “appropriate” times for that kind of questioning. There are consequences for every action and this is a consequence of that. Assault on women is at the forefront of everyone’s minds so he should’ve thought that it would come up . Dustin Hoffman doesn’t get a pass.
Person goes to work. Wants to focus on work, keep it about business, but is constantly thwarted by another person making them uncomfortable and forcing an unwanted conversation about sex. Person can’t gracefully change the subject or get themselves out of it. It keeps getting forced back on them. Every time the person speaks up to say they are a victim , no one believes them.
Welcome to our world, Mr. Hoffman. now That you know what that feels like, can you honestly say you have never done that to the many women who say you have?
Thank you John Oliver. Thank you.
Gee, Dusty – was that uncomfortable for you? Was did you feel put up in, like you were the target of harassment? Was it difficult to have relentless attention you didn’t want and weren’t in a position to walk away from? Can you think of any other situations in which you’ve created those situations for other people? Were you unhappy? Good. Sit with that for a spell.
Rock on, John Oliver.
I love John Oliver and his dimples. He’s a national treasure.
Get em’ John Oliver!!! You get each and every one you have the unfortunate displeasure of crossing paths with!! Thank you!!!! Fight the fight!! We love you and stand with you!!
Ultimate male privilege: show up to a panel discussing a movie about the cover-up of a sex scandal and not expect to be questioned about your own sexual harassment allegations.
It’s way past time for journalists to start making people uncomfortable again, their JOB is to hold people and governments accountable. Oliver isn’t a journalist, per se, but in this context he is. I’m sick of watching media coverage replace substantive journalism, it’s part of the reason we are in the situation we’re in today. Oliver’s intelligence hits like a bullet.
I agree. It was that way once, and then I am not sure what happened and when.
My husband worked on a movie with Hoffman years ago. He saw him pretend to trip near a beautiful women so he could grab her breast to keep himself from falling. The woman was visibly upset until she saw who had done it, then she smiled and talked to him for a couple minutes. My husband thought the whole thing was so weird.
What a huge ars*hole! What kind of adult behaves like that?
It’s time to stop kissing celeb and politicians asses and ask the hard questions. I applaud him!
Wake up, Dustin, and smell the coffee. It is called exposure to light.
His defense is just horrible, “you shouldn’t believe her, you should believe me”.
Wow…..look at all these comments! I have a newfound love and admiration for Mr. Oliver. I liked him before this interview…now I adore him! THOSE are the kinds of interviews that NEED to be done to these bastards who for whatever reason…made lots of women uncomfortable by abusing their power over them. It is amazing how all this is coming to light…now. Trump opened this whole can of worms…and for that…we should be grateful. Not his behavior but what it brought to light.
Yes, it’s time for people to start asking the hard questions. But I do cringe when Oliver said “You’ve given no evidence to show that it didn’t happen” — um, THAT is not a standard that I endorse. It’s difficult for anyone accused of anything to “give evidence to show it didn’t happen.” Probing them for more details, or forcing them to explain their earlier dismissive answer is great, and I’m glad he did it. But Oliver didn’t need to create some new dumb standard (which only gives fuel to people to claim all these accusations as just witch hunts).
I agree. I cringed when he said that. You can’t prove a negative in most cases.
Dustin Hoffman is a creep. He hired my childhood friend who grew up to be a novelist to write a screenplay for him. She moves to LA and sets to work. She had to quit, because after a month or so of fending off incessant distracting icky sexual approaches, she realised the job was conditional on sleeping with him.
Also my kid went to high school with his kid, who is also a creep.
Wag the Dog indeed.
Meh. Celebrities are thirsty and narcissistic by nature, so I’m never surprised when it’s revealed that they have no respect for other people.
I dont care about Dustin Hoffman’s feelings…but I dont think it was the right place to bring it up. This wasn’t supposed to be some expose interview on Dustin Hoffman. It was a panel to talk about a movie. John Oliver could have easily wrote a piece about his thoughts on Hoffman or called out the Tribeca Film Festival (or Robert deNiro directly) for choosing to screen this movie.
As others have pointed out so well, this in effect *was* talking about the movie, while illustrating precisely why it should be done in that venue. Instead of luring Hoffman to the panel to press unwanted sexual advances on him, he was asked to the panel to wank off to his movie about sexual harassment but was cornered into discussing his own sexual aggressions. In the process, we all got to witness his complete lack of integrity or understanding of the issues central to the movie.
As an added bonus, Hoffman confirmed that his publicist forced him to issue his sorry-not-sorry apology.
All in all, an evening well spent.
Love Oliver for doing this. If you have doubts about the skeevy Hoffman, look up the Playboy interview he gave where he details his participation in the gang rape of his brother’s girlfriend, whom he labeled a nyphamaniac as justification for this heinous act. She was so drunk she thought he was his brother. I think the publication year was 2009.
O my god. I just read that thing. It’s terrifying! A bunch off guys raped a woman and he is just openly bragging about it. What is the most hurtful and disturbing about this whole thing is(beside the despicable act), that the value off of women is still so low, not only there are no consequences but he is even applauded. All of this makes me want to throw up.
A knighthood for John Oliver … not that he would want one.
God bless John Oliver. For whatever reason, Dustin Hoffman is getting a pass (until now, the tide is turning though Rainman!), when his behavior on set was just as bad as Jeffrey Tambor’s on Transparent, who faced immediate and brutal backlash. I hate to say it but I feel like it’s because Hoffman’s accusers aren’t high profile enough. And him trying to lean hard on that “40 years ago things were different angle” is cretinous. Grow up Dustin you ancient pathetic mollycoddled creep. Everything about his attitude here is so transparent and revealing, John Oliver is a damn hero for not letting it lie, for not letting the bulls**t responses go unchallenged.