Oscar nominated writer and director James Toback has reportedly been accused of sexual misconduct by 38 women. The joint lawsuit was filed in New York Supreme Court in Manhattan. According to The Los Angeles Times, the lawsuit accuses Toback of using his reputation and power to entice young women “through fraud, coercion, force and intimidation into compromising situations where he falsely imprisoned, sexually abused, assaulted, and/or battered them.”
As the report notes, the lawsuit further claims that Toback relentlessly coerced women for decades into meetings framed as interviews or auditions that turned sexual. Bradley Beckworth, an attorney for the women, shared with Insider tabloid that there are more women who are not involved in the suit.
"I think that as people read this and learn more about what happened, our hope is that women will find out that they weren't alone," he said. "When abuse like this happens, it can be very isolating, depressing, scary, and a lot of things go with that." The complaint also names the Harvard Club of New York City as a defendant. As per the report of The LA Times, six of the 38 alleged assaults occurred at the Harvard Club.
Toback took women to the club for meals and drinks, the lawsuit reads, “attacking them in the Harvard Club’s dining room, stairwells, bathrooms and hotel rooms.” The complaint alleges that Toback was allowed “unfettered access” to employees-only areas of the club, where the filmmaker could “lure, seclude, falsely imprison and sexually abuse, assault and/or batter his victims.”
The lawsuit comes five years after the majority of the women first made the allegations public through interviews with The Los Angeles Times and Toback denied the allegations at the time. “He also repeatedly claimed that for the prior 22 years, it had been “biologically impossible” for him to engage in the behavior described by the women, saying he had diabetes and a heart condition that required medication.”
In the months following investigation conducted by The LA Times, nearly 400 women contacted the news organization with accusations of sexual harassment by him.
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