Dustin Hoffman denies accusations of sexual misconduct by three more women
Oscar-winning actor Dustin Hoffman has denied allegations from three more women who have accused him of sexual misconduct.
Cori Thomas said she was a 16-year-old classmate of the Rain Man star's daughter Karina, when in 1980, he exposed himself to her in a hotel room.
She told Variety magazine that he dropped his towel so he was totally naked and then asked her to massage his feet.
Hoffman’s lawyers dismissed her claims, along with those of the other two women featured, telling the publication they were “defamatory falsehoods”.
The Independent has separately contacted Hoffman's for comment, but none had arrived at the time of publication.
Six women have now publicly accused the 80-year-old of harassment in recent weeks.
Ms Thomas claimed the actor "kept telling me: ‘I’m naked. Do you want to see?’”
She said: “I didn’t know what to do in the circumstance. I didn’t know that I could say no, so I did it."
Now a playwright she said she was “saved” by her phone ringing and her mother coming to collect her from the hotel.
“I was so mortified, I never said anything,” Ms Thomas said.
A pair of other women also featured in the magazine, where they accused Hoffman of assault by putting his fingers inside them, during filming of 1987 action adventure comedy film Ishtar.
Melissa Kester said that "there was no warning", adding that she "didn’t know he would do that".
Afterwards she said she "sat in the bathroom crying". She added: "I thought, ‘Oh my God.’ I felt like I’d been raped."
The other woman, who chose to remain anonymous, told the publication she was a 22-year-old extra when Hoffman offered her a lift home after a wrap party.
She said: “He just took his hand and stuck his fingers right up inside of me. I didn’t know what to do. He’s smiling at me. I was frozen. I was outside of my body.”
The latest allegations came after three other women accused Hoffman of sexual harassment, which they alleged took place more than 30 years ago.
Hoffman apologised to Anna Graham Hunter - the first woman who to accuse him of sexual harassment which she alleged took place when she was a 17-year-old production assistant on the set of his 1985 film Death of a Salesman.
“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,” the actor said in a statement.
Hoffman, who has won Oscars for Kramer vs Kramer and Rain Man, is one of a number of high-profile Hollywood figures to have been accused of sexual misconduct in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein allegations that emerged in October.
The disgraced director has “unequivocally” denied all accusations of non-consensual sex.
“Any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr Weinstein. Mr Weinstein has further confirmed that there were never any acts of retaliation against any women for refusing his advances,“ his spokesperson told The Independent in a statement.
