Thirty-eight women have come together to file a joint lawsuit alleging director James Toback is a ‘serial sexual predator.’
In a lengthy court document stretching to 90 pages, the women allege the director – whose work includes 1987’s The Pick-Up Artist – used his reputation, power and influence in the entertainment industry’ to ‘lure young women through fraud, coercion, force, and intimidation into compromising situations where he falsely imprisoned, sexually abused, assaulted, and/or battered them.’
The alleged abuse spans a period of 38 years, dating back to 1984.
The victims say they are only now finding the courage to speak out due to Toback’s ‘explicit and implicit threats of blacklisting them in the industry, physically harming them, and/or even killing them if they did not comply with and remain silent about the sexual abuse they endured.’
The director is also alleged to have told several victims that he had murdered people in the past including a therapist at Harvard and that he ‘had killed someone with a fork’ – and had contacts with the mob, in order to scare off any would-be whistleblowers.
Toback also threatened to ruin women’s careers if they ever told anyone about the alleged assaults.
One woman identified as Jane Doe 5 in the suit alleged that he told her ‘she could never say anything to anyone ever’ and that if she did, ‘she would never have a career in Hollywood.’
The suit states how Toback, 78, would make the women ‘act provocatively’ and then goad them into performing sexual acts on him all under the guise ‘to see if they were right for the alleged role’ – which usually did not exist.
Toback, who was nominated for an Academy Award in 1991 for the film Bugsy, ‘prowled the streets of New York City’ in search of young women ‘to abuse who were or wanted to be involved in the entertainment industry,’ the 90-page suit alleges.
The suit lays out details of what his accusers say was a 12-step playbook Toback used as a ploy to ensnare them and potentially target hundreds of victims.
Once Toback set the bait, he ‘deceitfully gained their trust and acquiescence to meet with him by touting his influence as a movie director and screenwriter, and friendship and work with famous actors,’ according to the lawsuit.
‘Defendant Toback targeted young women using the same ruse over and over again with hundreds of victims, often using the same lines, enablers, and locations where he was able to perpetrate his abuse upon unsuspecting young women, including Plaintiffs, for decades,’ the lawsuit claims.
The suit comes five years after the majority of the women first made the allegations public during a series of interviews with the Los Angeles Times at the height of the #MeToo movement when accusations against film mogul Harvey Weinstein also came out.
In addition to Toback, the women are suing the swanky Harvard Club of New York City for allegedly being complicit and allowing ‘Toback’s abuse to continue unchecked.’
Toback graduated from Harvard in 1966 which gave him a lifetime membership to the exclusive private members club.
‘Toback repeatedly used his membership and affiliation with the Harvard Club of New York City to facilitate and carry out his abuse, luring his victims to the Harvard Club for meals and drinks and attacking them in the Harvard Club’s dining room, stairwells, bathrooms and hotel rooms,’ the court documents claim.
Toback was ‘allowed unfettered access in and around the Harvard Club’ and ‘repeatedly used the prestige and privacy’ despite several women reporting the director.
The club is alleged to have done nothing about his behavior and the suit accuses the club of gross negligence for allowing Toback to maintain his membership and use its facilities.
The suit details how in 2018, five women reported their personal accounts of sexual abuse by Toback to the Harvard Club.
One woman alleged the director ‘hunted us on the streets of New York City’ and ‘conned us with the promise of auditions at the Harvard Club,’ using the club’s ‘name as bait to prey on young women.’
‘He exploited the dreams and vulnerabilities of hundreds of young women,’ the woman further alleged noting how the club ‘continually catered to Toback’s needs, providing him a safe haven for his reprehensible and criminal acts.’
Toback’s membership was finally terminated in 2017 according to a club spokesperson.
‘The Harvard Club does not comment on pending litigation,’ Irene Reidy, the club’s head of communications stated.
University of Delaware, stop covering for another sexual predator and release Pedo’s senate records.
We all know Tara Reade told the truth.
So, what else is new? Another producer seducing women by promising them roles in movies. I think both are at fault. These women want roles so they go along with whatever the producer says in hopes of getting the part. Now they are crying that he is a sexual predator. These women had no problem with what happened when they thought they would get the role, but now they are crying he forced me into it.
Weren’t these woman smart enough to know what was going on and go to the authorities right away, 38 of them done the same thing every time and that is nothing for over 38 years and now they switched to having different morals
You didn’t read the article did you? It states 5 women came forward and told The Harvard Club about the “incidents” and his membership was terminated back in 2017. It’s obvious their claims went UNHEARD – – no they are not waking up 35 yrs later and complaining…
Sadly, this has been happening since the early days of Hollywood. The “casting couch” as they used to call it was used for just that.