In the wake of the revelations about Harvey Weinstein’s alleged sexual assault, more than 30 women have come forward with their own stories of sexual abuse at the hands of another Hollywood director.
Movie director, James Toback, has been accused by 38 women who claim that he would frame meetings as interviews or auditions, but they would quickly turn sexual.
According to a report by the Los Angeles Times, on several occasions Toback would invite women, usually in their 20s, to his hotel room where he would dry-hump them or masturbate in front of them, ejaculating into his pants or onto their bodies and then walk away.
Starr Rinaldi, who was an aspiring actress, told the Times that she was approached by Toback 15 years ago in Central Park.
‘He always wanted me to read for him in a hotel or come back to his apartment, like, ‘How serious are you about your craft?’
More than 30 women have accused film director, James Toback (pictured in September), 72, of ‘dry-humping their legs, masturbating in front of them and ejaculating into his pants’
Actress Terri Conn (left) told the Times that she was 23 years old when she had an encounter with Toback. Chantal Cousineau (right) said she met Toback for an audition for Harvard Man when she was 19. Cousineau said the alleged encounter happened in his hotel room
‘And the horrible thing is, whichever road you choose, whether you sleep with him or walk away, you’re still broken,’ Rinaldi said. ‘You have been violated.’
The majority of the women who spoke to the Times recall Toback, now 72, telling them that he could make them stars and all they needed to do was ‘trust him’.
During these alleged counters, Toback would name-drop Hollywood stars who he had at the time worked with in order to intrigue the women.
Once he got their attention, he would invite them to a secluded area or a hotel room to ‘start the process’ that would lead them to stardom, according to one woman’s account.
This well-known actress wanted to remain anonymous. She recalled an experience in 2000 at a Los Angeles hotel where she believed she would be auditioning.
Toback allegedly told her he felt a connection with her but that she needed remove her clothes in order to display the sexual confidence the role required.
‘I am really uncomfortable,’ she replied.’That’s the whole point of this exercise,’ she says Toback told her, according to the Times.
She ended up taking off her sweater, but started to cry as she attempted to read the monologue.
When she tried to leave, she said Toback blocked the hotel room door and told her he needed to ejaculate.
Toback’s (pic movies include, The Gambler (1974), The Pick-Up Artist (1987), Bugsy, which was nominated for an Oscar (1991), Two Girls and a Guy (1997) and more recently The Private Life of a Modern Woman (2017)
Starr Rinaldi (pictured), who was an aspiring actress, told the Times that she was approached by Toback 15 years ago in Central Park. ‘He always wanted me to read for him in a hotel or come back to his apartment, like, ‘How serious are you about your craft?’
Actress Echo Danon told the Times that Toback knelt in front of her while they were in his trailer on the set of his movie Black and White. She claimed that he told her: ‘If you look into my eyes and pinch my nipples, I’m going to come in my pants right now’
He allegedly made her pinch his nipples and look into his eyes as he pressed himself against her and came in his pants, according to the Times.
None of the women contacted the police at the time out of fear of retaliation. Some of the women even claim that Toback threatened them.
Toback, who is married to Stephanie Kempf, has denied the allegations, claiming that he had never met any of the women or, if he did, it ‘was for 5 minutes and have no recollection’, according to the Times.
He reportedly told the newspaper that it was ‘biologically impossible’ for him to engage in the behavior described by the women because he has diabetes and a heart condition.
Louise Post met Toback in 1987 while attending Barnard College in New York.
‘He told me he’d love nothing more than to masturbate while looking into my eyes,’ Post told the Times.
Post, who is now a guitarist and vocalist for the indie rock band Veruca Salt, said: ‘Going to his apartment has been the source of shame for the past 30 years, that I allowed myself to be so gullible’.
Veruca Salt tweeted on Monday: ‘Us too: by bosses, boyfriends, male babysitters, taxi drivers, strangers and movie director/pig #jamestoback #metoo.’
Actress Echo Danon told the Times that Toback knelt in front of her while they were in his trailer on the set of his movie Black and White.
She claimed that he told her: ‘If you look into my eyes and pinch my nipples, I’m going to come in my pants right now.’ Danon said that he made the statement while touching her thigs.
In 2003, radio host Sari Kamin, said she met Toback at a Kinko’s on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
In an article written for Medium, Kamin said she was just 23 years old at the time and ‘what I wanted more than anything in the world was to be an actress’.
Kamin wrote: ‘Toback then told me he saw me doing some xeroxing and felt connected to me and that was how he knew he would like to cast me in a movie because he only cast women in his movies that he saw and then felt instantly connected to.’
And just a few days later, she claims they had dinner at an Italian restaurant where Toback told her ‘he needed to masturbate seven times a day to feel steady in the world’.
In 2003, radio host Sari Kamin (pictured), said she had an encounter with Toback in his hotel suite. She claimed he knelt down before her and began to rub his groin against her
Kamin had several more dinners with Toback over the course of a few months.
She said that Toback eventually convinced her to accompany him to a hotel room to experience a ‘real connection’ with her.
According to her article, Kamin claims that Toback asked her to take off her clothes, which she met with much protest.
After berating her, she gave in and removed her clothes, according to the article.
He then allegedly knelt down before her and began to rub his groin against her.
‘I felt really paralyzed,’ Kamin recalled. ‘And I asked him, ‘Are you trying to get yourself off?’ And he said, ‘Absolutely.’ She jumped out of her chair, grabbed her clothes and ran.
Terri Conn told the Times that she was 23 years old when she had an encounter with Toback.
Conn had been working on the soap opera As the World Turns when, she says, Toback approached her on the street and asked her to meet him in Central Park.
Louise Post (pictured in March) met Toback in 1987 while attending Barnard College in New York. ‘He told me he’d love nothing more than to masturbate while looking into my eyes,’ Post told the Times
Post, who is now a guitarist and vocalist for the indie rock band Veruca Salt, said: ‘Going to his apartment has been the source of shame for the past 30 years, that I allowed myself to be so gullible.’ Veruca Salt tweeted (pictured) about Toback on last Monday
Chef, author, and TV host, Anthony Bourdain, who is currently dating Asia Argento, also tweeted about the accusations against Toback. Argento was one of more than 30 women to accuse Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault
She said he took her to a secluded area in the park and told her the best way to get to know someone is to see their soul. And the way you can see someone’s soul is to look into their eyes when they’re experiencing orgasm.
Conn then claims that he knelt before her and began humping her leg, telling Conn to look into his eyes.
‘I was shocked and frozen and didn’t know what to do,’ Conn said. ‘I thought if I resisted, it could get worse. He could overpower me.’
She told the Times that he then ejaculated into his pants and asked her to dinner, but she declined and never saw him again.
Actress Chantal Cousineau said she met Toback for an audition for Harvard Man when she was 19.
Cousineau said the alleged encounter began in a hotel restaurant and ended in his hotel room. She told the Times that Toback kept talking about masturbation.
When she tried to leave, he told her that she had gotten the part and during a rehearsal for a monologue, she claims she heard Toback grunting, with his hands rubbing loudly against his windbreaker pants as he masturbated.
‘I felt so violated,’ she said. ‘And there was my abuser, inches away from me.’
Toback, who is married to Stephanie Kempf (both pictured in 2013), has denied the allegations, claiming that he had never met any of the women or, if he did, it ‘was for 5 minutes and have no recollection’, according to the Times. The couple have one son together
The allegations against Toback come after more than 30 women allege that Hollywood producer Weinstein sexually assaulted, abused or harrassed them
More than 30 women have now come forward with allegations of sexual harassment against Hollywood producer Weinstein, the man once described as ‘God’ of the film industry.
For nearly three decades their accusations remained bottled up, some suppressed by pay-offs.
The accusations, including from some of the world’s most famous actresses, range from inappropriate massages to rape.
In the wake Weinstein being fired from The Weinstein Company over sexual assualt allegations, many women have been coming forward to share their stories of sexual harrassment.
More recently, actress Alyssa Milano, encouraged women who have been sexually assaulted, abused or harrassed to come forward using the hashtag #MeToo.
Toback’s movies include, The Gambler (1974), The Pick-Up Artist (1987), Bugsy, which was nominated for an Oscar (1991), Two Girls and a Guy (1997) and more recently The Private Life of a Modern Woman (2017).