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Hollywood actor Dustin Hoffman has spoken at length for the first time about the scandal that engulfed him during the #MeToo movement in 2017. In his new memoir, the 89-year-old Rain Man star denies allegations of sexual harassment and assault, but acknowledges that his jokes and persistent flirting may have made some women uncomfortable in the past.

In his book Look at Me, released on November 10, Hoffman devotes an entire chapter to the accusations that seriously affected his reputation and personal life.

In 2017, several women publicly accused the actor of inappropriate behaviour. The allegations included sexual harassment, unwanted touching, exposing himself to a minor and attempts to coerce women into sexual acts. Some of the alleged incidents, according to the women, took place when they were 15 and 17 years old.

Hoffman does not address every allegation individually, but categorically denies ever forcing women into sexual acts.

“I’m sure that in my life, particularly around 40 years ago, there were women I made uncomfortable. But ‘discomfort’ is a subjective emotional state. What one person finds crude and offensive, another might find funny, mood-lifting or even, to some extent, enjoyable,” the actor writes.

He also explains that he has always enjoyed dirty jokes and considers himself someone with a rather uninhibited sense of humour.

“I love what are called dirty jokes. As Bill Murray once put it, I’m a real old-school flirt. But that is not the same thing as making someone do something they don’t want to do,” Hoffman stresses.

‘I Supported #MeToo Until the Accusations Were Directed at Me’

The actor admits that he initially fully supported the #MeToo movement, which gave women the opportunity to speak openly about harassment and abuses of power in Hollywood.

“When this wave of revelations began spreading online and swept through Hollywood, I thought it was a very good thing. I already understood that too many women in my industry had endured things for far too long that they should never have had to endure,” he writes.

According to Hoffman, it never occurred to him that he might become one of the men accused.

“It never crossed my mind that anyone might say anything negative about me. The idea of getting something from someone sexually that they did not want to give you is something I have never done,” the actor insists.

However, he says that once the accusations were made against him, his familiar world came crashing down.

Hoffman compares the experience to the McCarthy era in 1950s America, when Hollywood figures and other prominent Americans faced public condemnation and were effectively blacklisted over suspected communist sympathies.

“There was no ‘innocent until proven guilty’. There was no way to prove anything at all. Everything was so crazy that I was completely bewildered and had no idea how to defend myself — or whether I should even try,” he admits.

He adds that he did not want to find himself opposing a movement he genuinely believed was necessary and right.

“I didn’t want to end up on the other side of my own convictions. The only problem was that people were saying things about me that simply weren’t true,” Hoffman says.

His Wife Helped Him Understand That Flirting Is Not Always Appropriate

The actor devotes a separate section of his memoir to his wife, Lisa Hoffman, whom he married in 1980. He says their relationship helped him better understand how differently men and women can perceive the same situations.

Hoffman admits that it took him years, perhaps even decades, to realise that his habit of flirting with almost every woman he met was not always appropriate.

He says Lisa has never doubted his love or devotion, although she has occasionally noticed him admiring attractive women.

“She knows what she’s dealing with. She fell in love with a man with a rather dirty sense of humour, who is obsessed with sex and constantly seeking attention,” Hoffman says, describing himself with a touch of irony.

He also acknowledges that for a long time he gave little thought to how his jokes and behaviour might be perceived by women who did not know him personally.

“I know I’m not dangerous, and she knows that. But if you’ve never met me before, how would you know? I don’t set out to demean or offend anyone. I don’t get pleasure from having power over people or forcing them to do anything,” the actor explains.

At the same time, Hoffman concedes that he may have lacked empathy and the ability to recognise other people’s feelings in the past.

“Is it possible that I lacked compassion? That I was so self-absorbed that I didn’t always understand what the people around me were feeling? Of course. That is entirely possible,” he admits.

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