John Oliver can never be accused of shying away from a tough topic.
At a 20th anniversary screening for Wag The Dog on Monday night, Oliver hosted a Q&A session with stars of the movie — including Dustin Hoffman.
According to Deadline, during the Q&A, Oliver brought up the recent spate of sexual misconduct allegations against many major Hollywood figures, specifically addressing accusations issued against Hoffman by a 17-year-old intern working on Death Of A Salesman that he sexually harassed and groped her.
“You’ve made one statement in print,” Oliver said, referring to Hoffman’s apology. “Does that feel like enough to you?”
Hoffman rebutted Oliver’s questions tersely, saying “First of all, it didn’t happen, the way she reported.” He further insisted that the apology came at the behest of his reps.
However, Oliver pressed forward with his criticism, saying “It’s that part of the response to this stuff that pisses me off. It is reflective of who you were. You’ve given no evidence to show that it didn’t happen. There was a period of time when you were creeping around women. It feels like a cop-out to say, ‘Well, this isn’t me.’ Do you understand how that feels like a dismissal?”
In response to this, Hoffman said “You weren’t there,” prompting Oliver to say “I’m glad.”
Hoffman sparred with Oliver, saying “The so-called, alleged comments that are made are truth now. And if you try to defend it, you’re guilty. You’ve put me on display here. You have indicted me. That’s not innocent until proven guilty.”
The Last Week Tonight host stayed on the topic, though, arguing “I can’t leave certain things unaddressed. That leads to me at home later tonight hating myself, asking, ‘Why the fuck didn’t I say something? No one stands up to powerful men.”
As far as Hoffman’s responses, Oliver said “It doesn’t feel self-reflective in the way it seems the incident demands. I get no pleasure from this conversation. But you and I are not the victims here.”
