James Toback: Oscar nominated writer-director accused of sexual harassment by 38 women

Director denies all allegations of wrongdoing and claims it is ‘biologically impossible’ for him to have committed the alleged offences

James Toback directed the 2008 documentary Tyson, which took a sympathetic look at the boxer and convicted rapist (Reuters)

Oscar-nominated director and writer James Toback has denied accusations of sexual harassment by dozens of women in the midst of the Harvey Weinstein scandal.

38 women have come forward to allege that Toback, now 72, harassed or assaulted them over a period stretching back to the 1980s.

He is accused of “prowling the streets of Manhattan looking for attractive young women, usually in their early 20s, sometimes college students, on occasion a high schooler”, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Toback, who was nominated for the Academy Award for writing the original screenplay Bugsy, which starred Warren Beatty, is said to have promised aspiring young actresses that he had the power to make them Hollywood stars.

It is claimed he persuaded girls and women to meet him in private rooms for an “interview” or audition, with the encounters turning into something far more sinister, according to the investigation.

All the women are said to have recounted similar tales of him allegedly asking personal or uncomfortable questions of a sexual nature, touching them inappropriately, or masturbating in front of them.

Of the 38 women who made allegations, 31 were willing to speak on the record about Toback, who is married to Stephanie Kemmpf, with whom he has a son.

Toback has denied all allegations of wrongdoing and claimed that it is “biologically impossible” for him to have done the things he is accused of because of his medical conditions, said to include diabetes and a heart problem.

Actress Adrienne LaValley described an alleged 2008 hotel room encounter that she claimed ended with the writer trying to rub his crotch against her leg before he ejaculated in his pants.

“I felt like a prostitute, an utter disappointment to myself, my parents, my friends. And I deserved not to tell anyone,” she said.

Toback has been active as a writer and director since the mid 1970s, and titled his semi-autobiographical 1987 film The Pick-Up Artist. His most recent film, The Private Life of a Modern Woman, stars British actress Sienna Miller.

In 2008, he directed the documentary Tyson, which took a sympathetic look at the boxer and convicted rapist Mike Tyson. He also wrote the film Seduced and Abandoned, featuring a look at how Hollywood films are financed.

As with Weinstein – who continues to deny that he had non-consensual sexual contact with any of his accusers – Toback’s behaviour is said to have been something of an open secret in Hollywood, with rumours of his behaviour reported in celebrity gossip columns as far back as 1989.

Louise Post, now a guitarist and vocalist for indie rock band Veruca Salt, said she met the writer in 1987 when she was a 20-year-old student.

“Going to his apartment has been the source of shame for the past 30 years, that I allowed myself to be so gullible,” she said.

In the wake of the Weinstein scandal, many women have shared tales of sexual harassment – from being harassed on the street to serious sexual assaults including rape, using the hashtag #metoo.

The Veruca Salt account tweeted: “Us too: by bosses, boyfriends, male babysitters, taxi drivers, strangers and movie director/pig #jamestoback #metoo.”

“James Toback damn you for stealing, damn you for traumatizing,” one of Weinstein’s most prominent accusers, Rose McGowan, tweeted on Sunday.

Weinstein accuser Asia Argento wrote on Twitter following the allegations against Toback: “So proud of my sisters for bringing down yet another pig.“