Dustin Hoffman and John Oliver get in bitchy slap fight over accusations

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John Oliver and Dustin Hoffman engaged in a tense discussion about the sexual harassment allegations facing Hoffman during a panel at an anniversary screening of the film “Wag the Dog” Monday night.

Oliver was moderating the Tribeca Institute panel, which also included Robert de Niro, producer Jane Rosenthal, and director Barry Levinson. Oliver brought up the issue of an allegation made against Hoffman by Anna Graham Hunter that he had groped her when she was a 17-year-old intern on the set of Hoffman’s “Death of A Salesman.”

“This is something we’re going to have to talk about because … it’s hanging in the air,” the HBO host said. He stated that he felt Hoffman’s partial apology at the time of Graham Hunter’s allegation to be insufficient.

“It’s hanging in the air?” Hoffman replied. “From a few things you’ve read you’ve made an incredible assumption about me,” he said, continuing, “You’ve made the case better than anyone else can. I’m guilty.”

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Oliver focused on the aspect of Hoffman’s statement that had asserted his behavior on the set was “not reflective of” who he is.

“It’s ‘not reflective of who I am.’ It’s that kind of response to this stuff that p***** me off,” Oliver said. “It is reflective of who you were. If you’ve given no evidence to show it didn’t [happen,] there was a period of time for a while when you were a creeper around women. It feels like a cop-out to say ‘it wasn’t me.’ Do you understand how that feels like a dismissal?”

The topic continued to come up throughout the panel, despite Oliver and Rosenthal attempting to move the conversation onward. Hoffman accused Oliver of not keeping an open mind, and oddly cited his performance in “Tootsie” as evidence of his respect for women.

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