On Monday, Buzzfeed published a lengthy, exclusive article, with an interview with a woman who says that Timothy Hutton raped her when she was 14 years old. The woman – who goes by Lauren – says that in 1983 in Vancouver, she and two of her junior high school friends met Hutton while he was in town filming Iceman. Hutton and another man invited the girls to Hutton’s hotel, and then to his hotel suite. The girls went. Hutton and his friend served them alcohol and then Hutton took Lauren to the bedroom in his suite and raped her, with the second man watching and participating. You can read her story here at Buzzfeed – it’s absolutely appalling and disturbing.
Buzzfeed spoke to people around Lauren at the time and they remember her telling them that Hutton had raped her. She remembers clearly saying no, saying stop, and trying to leave. Buzzfeed contacted Hutton obviously and they got his explicit denial, and they point out that Hutton has hired “two law firms and three spokespeople” to counter Lauren’s claims. Hutton’s people were blanketing media outlets with his denial too. Here’s the one they gave to People Magazine:
Hutton denied the allegations in a statement obtained by PEOPLE, in which he said, “For the past two-and-a-half years, I have been the target of multiple extortion attempts by a woman named Sera Dale Johnston to extract millions of dollars from me.”
“She threatened that if I did not meet her demands, she would go to the press with a false allegation that I sexually assaulted her 37 years ago in Canada,” Hutton continued. “I never assaulted Ms. Johnston.”
“Today, BuzzFeed chose to publish Ms. Johnston’s false story. BuzzFeed knew the truth because they were provided with documented evidence. What’s really going on here is that Ms. Johnston’s extortion attempts failed,” Hutton said. “She then decided to follow through on her threat to go to the press with her false story. When I became aware of this, I went to the FBI, signed a sworn statement and filed a criminal complaint against Ms. Johnston for extortion.”
He added, “I will not stop fighting to expose this story for what it is — a failed extortion attempt based on something that never happened.”
“BuzzFeed knew the truth because they were provided with documented evidence.” In their article, Buzzfeed noted that “the actor’s representatives have provided BuzzFeed News with an extensive array of information, including a 91-page letter (which they said may not be quoted), meant to discredit Johnston and halt this article.” I… don’t understand any of this from Hutton’s point of view. If he legitimately has evidence that this is merely an extortion attempt, blast that evidence everywhere. I don’t know. This whole story is so profoundly disturbing.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I believe her.
I believe her.
I read the article yesterday and it’s absolutely painful.
I agree with Steff. I believe her.
Im withholding judgment one way or the other. If he went to the FBI with evidence of extortion that’s a pretty serious – and verifiable – thing. Now the question is did the FBI feel it was real evidence and are they pursuing charges.
I’m with you @VV. Let’s not make a snap judgement until this shakes out a little more.
Did you read the Buzzfead article that is linked here, which includes the witnesses account (her friend who was with her that night, who she hasn’t had contact with in decades)? That heartbreaking apology she gave gives me chills.
I was already believing her, but the friend confirming a lot of it really sealed it for me. And so many people in her life back then confirm it as well, at least that she said something happened with him.
BuzzFeed is not a tabloid I don’t think they are going to publish some thing that is not true is more than likely they did a lengthy investigation
I doubt they read the article, based on these comments, but wish they would before they publicly pass any judgement. I’m not sure how someone could comfortably call her old friend, and witness, a likely liar. Hutton hiring a ton of attorneys, plus pr people, and sending a long letter that can’t be quoted, means nothing about his guilt.
BuzzFeed has published incorrect stories from bad witnesses that were easily disputed before. I’ll wait. Going to the FBI is pretty serious. This happened to Conor Oberst and that woman destroyed his career.
@valiantlyvarnished @ladybaden @lua
Way to show your true colors, ladies. You still waiting for all the details before you ‘jump to conclusions’ on Woody Allen (went to FBI, countless suits)? R. Kelly (extortion is his favorite word)? Bryan Singer (Buzzfeed expose, went to FBI, multiple defamation suits)? Kevin Spacey (multiple defamation suits & all 3 Spacey accusers have died in the last year, too!).How about James Franco (Buzzfeed did an expose on him, talked about contacting the FBI, filed multiple defamation suits). Did you wait before making a judgment about Cosby? Weinstein? Cuz I mean, ‘both sides’, right? How about Louis CK? oh & all those scientology accusations….but HEY, don’t get hysterical, no pitchforks here, lets wait & see.
It’s pretty rich considering I vividly recall your handle & another commenter discussing in comments a while back how horrible the treatment of black girls/women who are sexual assault survivors yet have to fight harder to be believed, supported & represented in sex crimes compared to non-WoC. I too support that & agree with that & think everyone should know about the disparity. But here you are, ‘let’s not jump to conclusions’ – welcome to the empathy gap!
I’ve read everything since the news broke (obv including the investigation), even took a time dive into 1983 & beyond. your comment is just another version of ‘let’s not try this guy in public court’ & ‘innocent until prove guilty’ but you very well know that’s what they are counting on. And Ofc he’s bluffing – not only does the FBI NOT have the legal jurisdiction to investigate a crime in CANADA, it’s well past the statue of limitations & two, he knows there’s absolutely no physical evidence to prove her case, only witnesses & confidants…just…like…Weinstein…Cosby’s trial. This is all posturing, getting the feds involved. He & his legal team know the bar for defamation won’t be met. Consider also he could have been VERY drunk, & like Kavanaugh, “has no recollection”. I could go on & on, & speaking as someone from a family thick of litigators/DAs, they know that. The article would never have been published if BuzzfeedNews legal team were confident they weren’t vulnerable. They are separate from the dumb normal Buzzfeed site. They’ve done legitimate investigations before – many posted/discussed in the past on here.
Bottomline: don’t pretend to believe survivors or women when you are the opposite on here.
I think people have a right to withhold judgement until they know more specifics without being dumped as woody Allen, bill Cosby et al sympathisers. Why do we have to get so aggressive with people who have different opinions?
I think people have a right to withhold judgement until they know more specifics without being dumped as woody Allen, bill Cosby et al sympathisers. Why do we have to get so aggressive with people who have different opinions?
The Buzzfeed article is specific and fits the pattern. It’s devastating. What the women remember and how they described their actions rings true. The details they don’t agree on (music, room layout) are the kinds of details survivors get wrong that are used against them in court. But the specific details of their assaults (the friend who wasn’t raped was fighting off another older guy in the other room) absolutely match experiences so many women have. Hell, I’ve never been raped, but plenty of men tried to corner me when I was that age. All I really remember is the physical contact made with me and how I fought back. I don’t remember dates or exact times. I remember waking up to an older cousin kidding me and fondling my breasts in the middle of the night and my pushing him off when I woke up.
I believe them, I believe her. Timothy Hutton is trash. James Franco before James Franco. At least Franco was busted propositioning the 17 year-old and she had proof that he couldn’t deny. So many men who want to screw around with children. Women make them work for sex, so they go after 14 year-olds or rape vulnerable women who no one will believe.
Timothy Hutton is cancelled. Fuck him and all the others like him.
I believe her.
As a creepy side note, the pedophile that abused me loved Hutton’s character & performance in Beautiful Girls…he would tell me he was Pooh Bear….gross. I guess he nailed that character cuz he could relate.
I believe her.
If Hutton has “evidence” that he feels exonerates him, then it’s odd (to put it mildly) he would request it not be widely shared. Guarantee that Buzzfeed lawyers combed this one over. That’s not “proof” Hutton did it, but it’s also a good sign that they were in no way presented with actual exculpatory evidence, secret or otherwise. If that part of Hutton’s statement is factually inaccurate, well…let’s just say my skepticism regarding his denials grows.
Also—and again this isn’t “proof” just circumstantial speculation on my part— but it’s very hard to blackmail or extort someone with a lie, since you’d have no leverage. Would not be surprised to see this later become, ‘We met, but it didn’t happen,’ or ‘It happened, but it was consensual and I didn’t know her age/she looked much older.’
I’m not taking a side by saying this in any way, but he may not be sharing evidence because his lawyers have advised him not to, pending future litigation.
Genuine evidence does not deteriorate due to sunshine being shone upon it. Nor does it become less useful once widely known. Since Hutton has said this did not occur and the damage he wanted to avoid is only to his reputation, attempting to counter such allegations with facts would not be looked down upon by any court in the world.
On the other hand, ‘you can’t quote me,’ vague allegations about an accuser’s credibility and greed are textbook gaslighting by abusers.
If Hutton is, indeed, innocent, he certainly is very closely following the playbooks of guilty men.
Agreed. His lawyers are telling him what to do 100%. Everything he says will be carefully planned. People seem to forget that the accused does not have the burden of proof. I am betting his attorneys are not allowing anything to be released. I am not saying he didn’t do it…. so please don’t jump all over me.
I don’t think you can assume there is no harm in sharing exculpatory info. I’m an attorney and our basic m.o. is not to share info we plan to use in litigation (with the opposing party) until we have to. For one thing, you would want to lock witnesses into a sworn statement first (a buzzfeed interview is good but not a sworn statement.) And then confront with your contradictory info. If I were his attorney, I would probably advise him the same (without knowing what exactly he has, if anything).
Otherwise i have no thought except blech I wish I never clicked on this and hopefully there will be an actual investigation into the whole thing.
The fact that he went to FBI as well may mean there is something more to this as well. I am withholding judgment as well. This may end up being a case of an exception that proves the rule sort of scenario.
Of course that’s possible. Interesting, though, that the Buzzfeed article notes Hutton didn’t go to the FBI until AFTER he was contacted for their story, long after this supposed exertion attempt (which he doesn’t deny he agreed to in at least some form) took place.
And that’s just one reason that Hutton’s own, ‘Why didn’t she go to police earlier?’ query proffered as proof it didn’t happen sits very unwell with me. Everyone should know by now that the reporting rate for sexual assault in 2020 remains dismally low due to victim blaming/shaming culture,, with chance of arrests and convictions minute. In the 1980s? With one party a celebrity and the other barely a teenager? Come on! Her not going to the police at the time in no way, shape or form even slightly invalidates her allegation.
Along those same lines, I don’t think going to the FBI bolsters his, especially as he was well lawyered up at the time.
The Buzzfeed article makes that pretty clear, she and her mother talked about reporting it, and she discussed it with her therapist. Her parents worked in the business and feared losing their careers. He was a big star then, and she was a kid.
I agree re: the timing of the FBI report. If this was purely extortion with no truth to the allegations, he would have gone to the FBI immediately. The fact that he didn’t immediately report to the FBI makes me question his credibility. So I’m inclined to believe the victim.
I had a friend who was Dudley Moore’s assistant for a number of years (she adored him and he would play the piano for her).
Anyhow, she told me a story while she was working for Moore, she had heard that Hutton’s reputation, even back in then (80’s early 90s) was that his speciality was sleeping with the young female actressess on set.
I remember stories about him from “Beautiful Gilrs” and the movie he was in with Angelina Jolie (She had a partiular skeevy story about that), whom he dated when she was 22 and he was 37 (1997). Alas, my friend passed away years ago, or I would ask her. (I always told her that she should write her memoirs.)
That said, involvoing the FBI is pretty serious — you don’t mess with them with false evidence. So, I am also in the court of let’s see how this shakes out. (Though veering to believe her.)
The thing with the FBI and extortion thing is there *was* an attempt. It’s mentioned in the article. It was a male friend of hers, can’t remember if it was a boyfriend or not. She acknowledges that he didn’t do her any favors but rather caused her harm. Hutton also paid but a far lesser amount. This could be reported as it’s legitimate but also used to intimidate *her*.
Also, for Amy general hospital fans, Real Andrew who played Det. Marcus Taggert for years is named in the article.
It was an ex-boyfriend of hers.
Hutton offered a settlement, but Johnston says she ultimately rejected it (after initialing accepting it following mediation), according to the article.
All too often the damage done by sexual assault–acting out sexually and otherwise, mental health struggles, tumultuous and frequent failed relationships—is used by abusers as so-called “evidence” of their innocence. a.k.a. This person is a mess, so don’t believe her. Instead of what it actually should be: the all-too-predictable effects of being sexually assaulted, and watching your abuser get away it.
I’ve worked with Timothy several times. Over a period of years. I did not see this behavior but of course that means zilch. I hope this lady was not victimized by him but no one is immune.
I have a friend who worked with him on “Leverage” and she said while she never saw anything untoward and had a positive experience with him, you never really “know” people and she wouldn’t automatically jump to discount any allegation against anyone.
Men who are predators categorize women. You were in the “good girl/professional” category. The only people who would know would be other men he engaged in the behavior with (guy friends) or women/children he victimized (not “good girls”, but trashy girls used for sex). He probably my respected you because you were respected by the men you worked with and it would ruin his own prospects. Or you exhibited independence, wouldn’t take anybody’s crap.
In my case, men would act like they thought I was competent and then corner me. It was especially awful when I was in college trying to survive. I came from poverty. That’s when I knew the category that I was in, but I didn’t take any crap. I just looked fuckable. I never wore suggestive clothing or flirted. I wanted to work. In LA, very pretty girl was fair game. At that time, all of these business books pushed “networking”. That worked for some. Others were attacked. I was one of them, and I wasn’t interested in being an actress. I wanted a damn desk job in business. It happened so much that I finally had to leave LA.
I was wondering if a different title to this article would have been more helpful? Of course he denies raping a 14 y/o, this is not news. Almost every predator denies it, unless they’re backed in a corner & see some benefit to admitting it. Maybe the headline should have been “Hutton accused of raping a 14 y/o in Canada…”, since that is the actual news here, not that he would, of course, deny it.
Thanks for bringing attention to this story 🙂
So she ask to go by Lauren and in return he publish her full name……Cool
Intimidation 1.0.1
Look at me, i’m a good guy, i wold never hurt anybody let me prove it by leaking her identity.
F you (I’m sorry i hate people like that)
I think he’s probably guilty, but I also don’t think he has the obligation to protect the privacy of someone accusing him of a crime.
Good point.
I”m not in a position to say if this is true or not. I do hope it’s not true, because I think he’s a great actor. Luckily, if he turns out to be this big predator, we now have the Me Too movement to thank, and I hope more predators are forced out of hiding. TM should do major jail time of he’s found guilty like Crosby and Weinstein.
Predators have been able be in hiding for too long. and I’m grateful for those who have spoken out about what they had to suffer and endure for many years. These animals should all be held accountable for their crimes.
I’ve heard rumors about him since the 90s. I totally believe the woman.
Well, yeah, did anyone expect him to do otherwise?
I’m leaning toward yes, that he did do it.
I believe her too.
I believe her. The details ring true. She’s been telling people for years. The other girl who was there supports her story. I believe her.