Liam Neeson calls allegations against Dustin Hoffman 'childhood stuff'
Liam Neeson was supposed to be the good guy on the Late Late Show. Fans on social media joked that he might beat up Sean Spicer backstage.
But during a controversial episode of the show, it was Neeson who somehow managed to upset fans by commenting on the ongoing sexual harassment scandal in Hollywood.
When he was asked about #MeToo movement, his first response was to refer to the exposure of men abusing their power in Hollywood as "a bit of a witch hunt".
“There's some famous people suddenly accused of touching some girl's knee, and suddenly they're being dropped from their programme," he said, referring to the dismissal last year of US radio host Garrison Keillor.
Liam Neeson on the wave of sexual harassment allegations against high profile men in Hollywood #latelate pic.twitter.com/NzT0rWXf25
— The Late Late Show (@RTELateLateShow) January 12, 2018
Asked about allegations against actors such as Kevin Spacey and Dustin Hoffman, it was pointed out by host Ryan Tubridy that he seemed "on the fence".
“When you're doing a play and you're with your 'family', other actors, technicians," Neeson said, ”you do silly things, and it becomes kind of superstitious if you don't do it every night, you think it's going to jinx the show. I think Dustin Hoffman was... I'm not saying I've done similar things to what he did - apparently he touched some girls' breasts - but it's childhood stuff."
Hoffman was in his 40s when he allegedly harassed the 16-year-old schoolmate of his daughter Karina, Cori Thomas. His attorney called the accusations "defamatory falsehoods".
In response to the allegations made by writer Anna Graham Hunt, who claimed Hoffman groped her on the set of Death of a Salesman in 1985 when she was 17, he said: “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.”
Tubridy did not challenge Neeson when he appeared to imply Hoffman's alleged behaviour was due to his "superstition" as an actor.
Liam Neeson fans everywhere as he opens up on the #MeToo campaign. #LateLateShow pic.twitter.com/tzSJ1H4ZYH
— Niall McGarry (@MrNiallMcGarry) January 12, 2018
I was literally just about to tweet "Liam Neeson seems like such a nice, normal person" and then he referred to the #MeToo movement as a bit of a 'witch-hunt'. #latelate
— Ray (@RayMcGrath) January 12, 2018
Liam Neeson thinks the #MeToo movement has become a witch hunt.
40 to 50 thousand women were killed due to witchcraft scholars estimate.
Fuck you Liam Neeson and anyone else that feels the same. Let me set you on fire then we can talk about a witch hunt— Silence Dogood (@realBigBalls) January 13, 2018