Dustin Hoffman Acknowledges Missteps, Rejects Misconduct Claims

WHO:

TheWrap - Actor Dustin Hoffman wrote about allegations against him in his memoir, *Look at Me*; the article describes him as a two-time Oscar winner.

Yahoo News New Zealand - Hoffman, identified as 89 and the father of six, addressed allegations in *Look at Me* without discussing specific accusations.

TheWrap - Hoffman’s memoir describes him as supporting the #MeToo movement while saying he was shocked when allegations were made against him.

Yahoo News New Zealand - Hoffman wrote that his wife, Lisa, whom he has been married to since 1980, helped him understand differences in how men and women perceive situations.

Yahoo News New Zealand - Hoffman wrote that Bill Murray once called him “a Borscht Belt flirt.”

Yahoo News New Zealand - The article says six women’s claims surfaced in 2017; it also recounts allegations made by three women who spoke to Variety and allegations from three others, including a woman who said she was 17.

WHAT:

TheWrap - Hoffman wrote that he had not worried about allegations because taking something sexually that another person did not want to give was “just not something I’ve ever done. Or been tempted to do.”

TheWrap - Hoffman wrote, “I’m sure it’s true that in my life, especially forty years ago, I made some women uncomfortable,” and called “uncomfortable” a subjective emotional state.

Yahoo News New Zealand - Hoffman described himself as “out there,” said he liked dirty jokes, and argued that this was not the same as pressuring someone to do something they did not want.

Yahoo News New Zealand - Hoffman acknowledged he might have shown “insufficient empathy,” been self-involved, or taken an embarrassingly long time to understand that flirting or dirty jokes could seem inappropriate.

Yahoo News New Zealand - The allegations described included sexual harassment, sexual assault, indecent exposure, lewd comments, forced oral sex, groping, and propositioning a woman during a pitch meeting. Hoffman denied misconduct; no lawsuits or criminal charges were brought against him.

TheWrap - Hoffman said he was “bewildered” about how to defend himself without opposing a movement he considered important.

Yahoo News New Zealand - Hoffman’s lawyer called assault allegations from two women “defamatory falsehoods”; Hoffman publicly apologized to one accuser.

WHERE:

TheWrap - Hoffman said the #MeToo reckoning spread across the internet and Hollywood.

Yahoo News New Zealand - One alleged encounter occurred during a production of *Death of a Salesman*; another allegation concerned the film *Straw Dogs*, and the memoir also discusses *Tootsie*.

WHY:

TheWrap - Hoffman wrote that he supported #MeToo because women in his industry had “put up with way too much for way too long.”

Yahoo News New Zealand - Hoffman compared allegations against powerful men to the McCarthy era, writing that there was “no innocent until proven guilty” and no “proving” anything.

HOW:

TheWrap - Hoffman’s account of the allegations and his response appears in a chapter of his memoir, *Look at Me*.

Yahoo News New Zealand - The allegations included claims about events during a 1985 *Death of a Salesman* production; one woman said she was assaulted when she was 17 and working as a production assistant, and a second alleged Hoffman groped and assaulted her.

(UPDATED November 11, 2026 02:03 UTC)

Dustin Hoffman addresses allegations in his memoir, acknowledging he may have made women uncomfortable. He denies misconduct, while saying he struggled to defend himself without opposing the #MeToo movement. Hoffman says his wife helped him understand how flirting and jokes could seem inappropriate.