Three women have come forward to accuse actor Dustin Hoffman of sexual misconduct, including one who said he exposed himself to her when she was in high school, Variety reports.
Cori Thomas said in 1980, she spent an afternoon with Hoffman and his daughter, her classmate Karina, in New York City. Instead of picking her up at a restaurant, Hoffman changed the plans and told the restaurant to tell Thomas' parents to pick her up at his hotel room. Karina left and Hoffman decided to take a shower, coming out in a towel and then dropping it. "It was the first time I had ever seen a naked man," Thomas, who was 16 at the time, said. "I was mortified." Thomas said he asked her to massage his feet, which she did because she "didn't know that I could say no," and he made suggestive comments, which she ignored.
Two other women told Variety Hoffman sexually assaulted them while filming 1987's Ishtar. Melissa Kester said her boyfriend at the time was working on the movie's music, and brought her to the recording studio several times. During one visit, Hoffman called her into the recording booth, Kester said, and he "just stuck his fingers down my pants. He put his fingers inside me. I didn't know what to do." Variety also spoke to a woman who was an extra in Ishtar, who shared a similar story. While shooting in New York City, Hoffman offered her a ride home with several other people, the woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said. In the back of the station wagon, Hoffman "just took his hand and stuck his fingers right up inside of me," she said. "I didn't know what to do." He asked her to go to his hotel room, and there, they had intercourse.
The woman told Variety she considered the station wagon incident non-consensual, and when asked if the hotel encounter was, she said, "I don't know." Hoffman's attorney, Mark A. Neubauer, called the accusations "defamatory falsehoods." Earlier this year, Anna Graham Hunter accused Hoffman of groping her in 1985, while she was a teenager. Catherine Garcia
A DC comic series has been axed after allegations of sexual abuse emerged against its writer.
The series Border Town will cease production, and the final two issues of the comic will not be published under DC, The Hollywood Reporter wrote on Friday. The announcement comes after toy designer Cynthia Naugle published a statement saying she had been "sexually, mentally, and emotionally abused" by an unnamed person. The figure was later identified on social media as Border Town writer and co-creator Eric M. Esquivel, per the Reporter.
Two artists for the comic have since released statements on Twitter, with color artist Tamra Bonvillain calling Esquivel's actions "disgusting and inexcusable." Esquivel has not yet publicly commented on the allegations.
Border Town opened this year's relaunch of the DV Vertigo line, which publishes more mature content about hot button topics. The comic sold out and was met with critical acclaim, per the Reporter. Marianne Dodson
Time is up on not having enough diversity in the room.
The Time's Up organization, which seeks to combat inequality and improve workplace culture for women, is taking a $500,000 grant received from CBS and putting it toward an initiative to diversify the producer and executive pool in Hollywood, per The Hollywood Reporter.
The initiative, dubbed "Who's in the Room," will try to increase racial and socioeconomic diversity among producers and execs by selecting mentees in entry-level and assistant positions and pairing them with industry mentors. The initiative will also provide instruction and, if needed, financial aid. The first class will have 10 mentees for a duration of nine months, followed by a second class of 50 individuals for two years.
Time's Up, founded by celebrities who were responding to the "#MeToo" movement in Hollywood, is one of 18 advocacy organizations receiving a portion of $20 million from CBS. The media broadcasting company is distributing the money as part of its separation agreement with former CEO Les Moonves, the Reporter writes. Marianne Dodson
President Trump's organization reportedly received money from the Presidential Inaugural Committee in 2017, with at least one organizer expressing concern that they were being overcharged.
ProPublica reported Friday that the inaugural committee paid the Trump Organization for rooms, meals, and event space at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., and Ivanka Trump herself was involved in working out the price. While it's unclear what price was ultimately settled upon, ProPublica published copies of emails between one lead planner, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, and inauguration chairman Rick Gates.
"I wanted to follow up on our conversation and express my concern," Wolkoff writes to Gates, going on to remind him that "when this is audited it will become public knowledge." The committee had been offered a price of $700,000 to use the hotel for four days.
The report notes that if the Trump Organization overcharged the inaugural committee, that could be a tax law violation, as this would be an example of a person with influence over a non-profit charging it above market rates. A spokesperson for Ivanka Trump told ProPublica that she recommended charging a "fair market rate."
Federal prosecutors are reportedly already investigating whether the inaugural committee misspent money and whether foreign entities may have donated to the committee in an attempt to buy access to the administration. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Friday that the committee "doesn't have anything to do with the president or the first lady." Read more at ProPublica. Brendan Morrow
Outgoing Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) signed legislation Friday limiting the power that newly-elected Democrats will have when they take office.
Dubbed a "power grab" by many, the bill was signed with no changes after Walker previously stated he was considering partial vetoes, Politico reports. The bill has been met with criticism from both Democrats and Republicans, with governor-elect Tony Evers (D) and former Republican Gov. Scott McCallum both urging Walker to veto the bill.
The bills will limit the governor's oversight on previously approved laws and give the state legislature control over a state economic development agency, per The Huffington Post. The legislation also reduces the amount of time for early voting, capping it at two weeks statewide. A flood of early voters were reportedly influential in toppling Walker in favor of Evers in the midterm elections.
Walker fought back against critics before signing the bill, saying that the issue has been sensationalized.
"There's a lot of hype and hysteria, particularly in the national media, implying this is a power shift," Walker said. "It's not."
Evers criticized Walker's decision to "ignore and override the will of the people of Wisconsin," and said the controversial decision will be Walker's legacy. Marianne Dodson
