American TV presenter John Oliver has admitted he thinks he “failed” in his recent attempt to grill Dustin Hoffman about the allegations of sexual misconduct levelled against him.
Earlier this month, Oliver was presenting a panel discussion with the Oscar-winning actor about the film ‘Wag The Dog’, and wound up making headlines when he turned the conversation to the fact he had recently been accused of repeatedly groped an actress he worked with on ‘Death Of A Salesman’.
Another woman, who worked was an intern on the film adaptation of the Arthur Miller play, said she was also sexually harassed by Hoffman, including inappropriate remarks and groping.
In response to these initial accusations, Hoffman apologised, insisting these allegations “were not reflective” of who he is, a turn of phrase which Oliver took particular issue with during their interview.
While many praised Oliver at the time for asking Hoffman about his response to the allegations, he has now admitted he doesn’t think he handled the situation as well as he could have.
Appearing on ‘The Russell Howard Hour’, Oliver explained: “I knew the stories were out there, and I heard there were a few more coming, so [bringing them up] felt unavoidable. We had to have a discussion about it.”
Admitting his regret over the way Hoffman handled the situation, he continued: “The questions weren’t particularly remarkable, but his answers were… not great… it didn’t really go anywhere constructive, so the whole thing just made me feel sad.
“I wanted it to become something more constructive. I tried and failed.”
Since the incident between Oliver and Hoffman at the ‘Wag The Dog’ panel, three more women have come forward to make allegations against the actor.
One of the accusers, a friend of his daughter’s, claims he exposed himself to her while she was still a minor, while two more have alleged that they were sexually assaulted by him.
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