Over 30 Women Accuse Director James Toback of Sexual Harassment

UPDATE: James Toback will not face criminal charges in connection with five cases involving alleged sexual misconduct in the Los Angeles area because the allegations are beyond the statute of limitations, The Hollywood Reporterreports. The five investigations were conducted by the Los Angeles and Beverly Hills police departments. According to the Los Angeles County District Attorneys office, in one investigation, the alleged victim failed to appear for an interview and in the case of the other four, the allegations were found to be too old to prosecute.

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James Toback, the writer and director of films like Black and White and Two Girls and a Guy, has been accused of sexually harassing over 30 women over the course of the last three decades.

While rumors of Tobacks behavior toward women had widely been reported in previous exposs, the Los Angeles Times published the full scope of Tobacks actions after speaking to 38 of the directors victims.

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The latest story of a Hollywood figures attempts to use their power in the industry to pressure women into sex comes just weeks after dozens of actresses levied similar claims against producer Harvey Weinstein, who was subsequently fired from his own company and expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

James Toback damn you for stealing, damn you for traumatizing, actress Rose McGowan, a Weinstein victim, tweeted Sunday. Asia Argento wrote, So proud of my sisters for bringing down yet another pig: James Toback.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the now-72-year-old Toback often relied on the same method to approach younger women unsolicited in New York, telling them he was a famous director and showing them proof; in one case, Toback opened up his bag and showed a woman a DVD copy of Two Girls and a Guy. Toback then reportedly told some of the women, often non-actresses, that they would be perfect for his next film.

In almost all cases, Toback reportedly navigated the conversation from the young womans role in an upcoming film to sexual matters. Women were often invited to rehearsals for the alleged role; it was at these encounters where some of the women witnessed Toback masturbating in front of them or attempting to coerce them into sex, the newspaper writes.

One of the women Toback lured was Veruca Salt singer Louise Post, who shared her own Toback encounter from 1987. He told me hed love nothing more than to masturbate while looking into my eyes, Post said. Going to his apartment has been the source of shame for the past 30 years, that I allowed myself to be so gullible.

Six days before the Toback report, Veruca Salt wrote on Twitter during the #MeToo social media movement, Us too: by bosses, boyfriends, male babysitters, taxi drivers, strangers and movie director/pig #jamestoback #metoo.

Toback denied the womens accusations in the report, saying he never met most of them and if he did, it was for five minutes and have no recollection. Toback added that hes a diabetic with a heart condition that makes it biologically impossible for the womens claims to be true.

A representative for Toback referred Rolling Stones request for comment to Toback, who did not immediately reply.

Previous investigations into Tobacks sexual harassment of women were reported by Spy magazine in 1989 as well as numerous first-person accounts published on Gawker.

Its a common thread among many women I know after someone mentions they were sexually abused by a creepy writer-director, the response is, Oh, no. You got Toback-ed,' New York drama teacher Karen Sklaire, who said Toback grinded up against her leg during a 1997 meeting, told the Los Angeles Times. The numbers are staggering.