Dustin Hoffman Defended Amid Sexual Harassment Claims, It's 'Going Too Far'

Following allegations by two women that he had sexually harassed them in the 1980s and early 1990s, actor Dustin Hoffman has found an ally in his "Death of a Salesman" director, Volker Schlöndorff, who has defended him against the claims that have been made against him.

The first reports that Hoffman has sexually harassed someone came earlier this week, when Anna Graham Hunter came forward in The Hollywood Reporter, saying that in 1985, when she was a 17-year-old production assistant intern on the set of "Death of a Salesman," Hoffman made unwanted sexual advances towards her and made vulgar statements, and also requested that she give him a foot massage on her first day on set, a request she complied with.

Since her claims went public, screenwriter Wendy Riss Gatsiounis also came forward to allege that Hoffman propositioned her during a meeting in 1991.

Hoffman hasn't responded to Gatsiounis' claims, but he did apologize for his actions against Hunter, admitting he wasn't aware they had upset anyone, in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.

"I have the utmost respect for women and feel terrible that anything I might have done could have put her in an uncomfortable situation. I am sorry. It is not reflective of who I am."

Now in a new statement to the same magazine, Schlöndorff, who directed Hoffman in the play, claims that Hunter's account of what happened was a "mischaracterization" and likening him to a predator was "going too far," because Hoffman was not only known as a "kidder" on set, but had also requested foot rubs from others as well because he was often on his feet for 16 hours at a time.

"Everybody gave him a foot massage now and then, on the set, amidst the chaos, nothing ambiguous about it," he said.

He also added that he knew Hoffman wouldn't have continued any behavior that made Hunter uncomfortable if he had known it was bothering her.

"If [Dustin] knew that she would be upset when he was teasing her, he wouldn't have done it," he added.

The accusations against Hoffman came in the same week that several others were also accused of similar incidents, and in some cases. Harvey Weinstein, whose own exposure as a serial offender took an even more shocking turn this week when actress Paz de la Huerta accused him of raping her, and New York police said they had enough with her claims to potentially charge Weinstein with a crime.

In addition, Kevin Spacey saw Netflix sever all ties with him, and he was fired from the final season of his hit series for the streaming service, "House of Cards," after several actors and crew members from the show came forward with allegations he had sexually assaulted or harassed them. Brett Ratner, a director and producer known for several hit films was also the subject of accusations if harassment and assault by several actresses in a Los Angeles Times article, including Olivia Munn and Natasha Henstridge.