Warning: The article contains recollections of sexual abuse which can be triggering to some readers
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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Known for his many antihero roles, Dustin Hoffman is one of the most prominent actors to emerge from modern Hollywood. Despite having a flawless acting record and brilliant roles that upheld his legacy, he was also the subject of several scandals. Although his altercation with Meryl Streep is well-known, he had been once accused of sexual assault by several others.
In an exclusive article on his sexual assault charges published by Variety in 2017, a woman alleged that the actor made her feel uncomfortable by flashing her when she was a teenager. This occurrence sparked renewed interest in Meryl Streep's nearly four-decade-old claim that her 'Kramer vs Kramer' co-star introduced himself by touching her inappropriately.
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Dustin Hoffman allegedly flashed to 16-year-old
According to the Variety article, Hoffman allegedly flashed himself to a teenage girl in the 1980s. The Oscar-winning actor was charged with inappropriate behavior in a New York hotel room, which the playwright Cori Thomas claimed left her traumatized.
In 1980, Thomas, 16 at the time, was Karina Hoffman's high school classmate at the United Nations International School in New York. Thomas told Variety that she had gone to lunch with the father and daughter at Jim McMullin's on the Upper East Side and visited bookstores with them. She exclaimed at the time, "This was at first one of the greatest days of my life. One of my idols was spending time with me and talking with me respectfully."
Her parents were meant to pick her up from the restaurant, but Thomas, an aspiring actress at the time, alleged that Hoffman proposed they leave a note asking her parents to pick her up from his hotel instead. Thomas went on to say that the three went to Hoffman's hotel room on the top floor, but shortly after, "either Karina or Dustin suggested that [Karina] should go home because it was a school night and she had homework. So she left, and I was left in the hotel room with him alone."
Thomas claimed that Hoffman went to the bathroom not long after Karina left. After some time, "he came out of the bathroom with a towel at first wrapped around him, which he dropped," Thomas recalled. "He was standing there naked. It was the first time I had ever seen a naked man. I was mortified. I didn’t know what to do. And he milked it. He milked the fact that he was naked. He stood there. He took his time."
Hoffman reportedly put on his robe at last, but he then requested a foot massage from Thomas. She complied since she was a confused and naive teenager. He kept telling her, "I'm naked, Do you want to see?" while she continued massaging him.
Thomas, a famous playwright, and mother of one, claimed in 2017 that it wasn't until seven years after the event that she felt ready to discuss what had happened. She never revealed to Hoffman's daughter Karina, until her revelation to Variety, who remained a close friend.
Dustin Hoffman allegedly assaulted Meryl Streep
According to an interview with the New York Times, Hoffman allegedly grabbed Meryl Streep by her breast when they met for the first time on the set of 'Kramer vs. Kramer.' Streep recalled, "He came up to me and said, ‘I’m Dustin — burp — Hoffman,’ and he put his hand on my breast." She further claimed that her co-star "just slapped [her]" during the filming of a particular scene, despite the fact that it was the very first take. "And you see it in the movie. It was overstepping," Streep said at the time.
The interview was "not an accurate rendering of that meeting," a spokesman for Streep later claimed to E! News, adding that "there was an offense and it is something for which Dustin apologized. And Meryl accepted that."
This article contains remarks made by individual people and organizations. MEAWW was unable to confirm them independently.
