Dustin Hoffman, John Oliver Feud At Film Panel Over Harassment Claims

Dustin Hoffman and John Oliver got into a public spat Monday after the "Last Week Tonight" host questioned Hoffman over recent sexual harassment allegations against him. At a screening commemorating the 20th anniversary of the film "Wag the Dog," Oliver asked the Oscar-winning actor about the claims made against him recently by an actress.

According to The Washington Post's Steve Zeitchik, Hoffman "grew visibly uncomfortable" with Oliver's question and the two went back-and-forth about addressing the allegation. Later, Hoffman said to Oliver, "You weren't there," to which Oliver replied, "I'm happy I wasn't."

Several minutes later, Hoffman accused Oliver of not keeping an "open mind" and "unquestionably believing accusers," according to Zeitchik.

CBS reporter Laura Podesta wrote on Twitter that Hoffman also accused Oliver of making an "incredible assumption" about him.

"You’ve put me on display here," Hoffman told Oliver during the 45-minute Q&A, according to Deadline. Later, Oliver quoted from an account Hoffman’s accuser wrote in a column, to which the actor asked Oliver, "Do you believe this stuff you’re reading?" Oliver said he did "because she would have no reason to lie."

Amid a slew of sexual assault allegations that have come to light against several A-list stars over the last few weeks, actress Anna Graham Hunter accused Hoffman of sexually harassing her while she interned as a production assistant on the set of the 1985 "Death of a Salesman" TV film. At the time of the incident, Hunter was 17.

In a column for the Hollywood Reporter Nov. 1, Hunter said Hoffman was "openly flirtatious" with her, asking for a foot massage, groping her and talking about sex to her.

"When I was a senior in high school in New York City, interning as a production assistant on the set of the Death of a Salesman TV film, he asked me to give him a foot massage my first day on set; I did. He was openly flirtatious, he grabbed my ass, he talked about sex to me and in front of me. One morning I went to his dressing room to take his breakfast order; he looked at me and grinned, taking his time. Then he said, 'I’ll have a hard-boiled egg … and a soft-boiled clitoris.' His entourage burst out laughing. I left, speechless. Then I went to the bathroom and cried," she wrote.

Hunter also revealed that she had copies of mailed dispatches to her sister in London from her five weeks on set detailing the encounters.

"At 49, I understand what Dustin Hoffman did as it fits into the larger pattern of what women experience in Hollywood and everywhere," she wrote in the column. "He was a predator, I was a child, and this was sexual harassment. As to how it fits into my own pattern, I imagine I’ll be figuring that out for years to come."

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

"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," Hoffman said in a statement last month, responding to claims made by Hunter.