‘Death Of A Salesman’ Director Says Dustin Hoffman Was Just Teasing Intern With Sex Talk

Dustin Hoffman doesn’t want to be put in the same category as Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey, and his former director doesn’t think he should be. On the heels of allegations that Hoffman sexually harassed a 17-year-old female intern during the production of the 1985 TV movie Death of a Salesman, the film’s director is defending the legendary actor’s behavior on the set.

Director Volker Schlöndorff, who directed Hoffman in the famous TV movie more than 30 years ago, has denounced accusations that the Oscar-winning star harassed a teen intern when making the film.

“I welcome the #metoo campaign and do not want to sound dismissive of what I consider a serious cause,” Schlöndorff said in a statement posted by Page Six.

“However one should not smear, tar and feather indistinctively [sic] every male around. Calling Dustin Hoffman a predator is simply going too far. I hope this fades away. It’s plain silly.”

The director went on to explain that the actor, who is now 80-years-old, routinely joked around with everyone on the set of the made-for-TV adaption of Arthur Miller’s classic novel.

“He was a clown, it was part of the way we portrayed Willy Loman as well — but he never played the power play,” Schlöndorff said of Hoffman.

“He was teasing the young, nervous interns, mostly to make them feel included on the set, treating them as equals to all the senior technicians.”

Schlöndorff went so far as to say, “I wish Arthur Miller was around, he would find the right words, but then he might get accused of sexually molesting Marilyn Monroe.”

In a separate statement to The Hollywood Reporter, the Death of a Salesman director said any allegations that Hoffman behaved like a sexual predator have gone “too far.” The filmmaker explained that Dustin was known as a “kidder” on the set, and he downplayed the actor’s alleged request for foot rubs, explaining that Hoffman, who was in his late 40s at the time, was on his feet for 16 hours at a time while making the movie.

“Everybody gave him a foot massage now and then, on the set, amidst the chaos, nothing ambiguous about it,” Schlöndorff told THR.

“If [Dustin] knew that she would be upset when he was teasing her, he wouldn’t have done it.”

The Death of a Salesman director’s comments come in response to writer Anna Graham Hunter’s claims that Dustin Hoffman sexually harassed her when she was a teen intern on the set of the 1985 TV movie. In a guest column for THR, Graham Hunter revealed that Hoffman asked her to give him a foot massage on her first day on set, and that he regularly “talked about sex to me and in front of me.” The L.A. writer also revealed that Hoffman allegedly groped her, and she documented Hoffman’s inappropriate behavior in a series of letters to her sister.

In a statement about the allegations, Dustin Hoffman said he has “the utmost respect for women” and said he feels terrible that anything he may have done that could have put anyone in an uncomfortable situation.

“I am sorry,” Dustin said. “It is not reflective of who I am.”

For more on Dustin Hoffman and his apology to the Death of a Salesman intern, see the video below.

[Featured Image by Alastair Grant/AP Images]