Kevin Spacey, Dustin Hoffman, director Brett Ratner and NPR senior editor Michael Oreskes the latest high-profile figures to be accused of harassment.
Kevin Spacey and Dustin Hoffman have been accused of misconduct and have issued apologies.
Meanwhile, six women have accused Brett Ratner, director of the Rush Hour movie series and X-Men: The Last Stand, of harassment or misconduct.
Brett Ratner’s lawyer “categorically” denied all of the accusations on his behalf.
A representative for Kevin Spacey released a short statement to the media, saying the actor “is taking the time necessary to seek evaluation and treatment. No other information is available at this time”.
A growing number of allegations have been made against public figures in recent weeks.
The allegations have been sparked by multiple women speaking out against the Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, and a subsequent campaign encouraging victims to share their stories of harassment under the #metoo hashtag.
New allegations have emerged from a number of men accusing Kevin Spacey of misconduct.
Director Tony Montana claims he was groped by Kevin Spacey in a Los Angeles bar in 2003. He says he was left with PTSD for six months after the incident.
Tony Montana told Radar Online that he was in his thirties when the incident took place at the Coronet Bar in LA.
It follows an allegation made by Anthony Rapp that Kevin Spacey tried to “seduce” him when he was 14 years old.
Kevin Spacey says he has no recollection of that encounter, and was “beyond horrified”.
Incidents regarding Kevin Spacey are also alleged to have taken place in the UK while the Oscar-winning actor was the artistic director at the Old Vic in London between 2004 and 2015.
Mexican actor Roberto Cavazos, who acted in several plays at the theater, claims Kevin Spacey “routinely preyed” on young male actors.
Six women have accused Director Brett Ratner of harassment or misconduct.
The women, including The Newsroom actress Olivia Munn, made the allegations in the Los Angeles Times.
Natasha Henstridge, who appeared in Species and The Whole Ten Yards, claimed she had been forced into an act with Brett Ratner as a teenager.
The actress, now 43, was a 19-year-old model at the time she alleges Brett Ratner stopped her from leaving a room at his New York apartment and then made her perform an act on him.
“He strong-armed me in a real way,” Natasha Henstridge told the LA Times.
“He physically forced himself onto me.”
Brett Ratner’s lawyer “categorically” denied all of the accusations on his behalf in response to the article.
Separately, the director filed a libel case in Hawaii against a woman who accused him on Facebook of rape more than 10 years ago.
Brett Ratner says he has stepped away from dealings with movie studio Warner Bros since the allegations came to light.
Meanwhile, Dustin Hoffman has been accused of harassing an intern on the set of one of his movies in 1985.
Anna Graham Hunter, a writer, says that when she was 17, Dustin Hoffman groped her and made inappropriate comments to her.
Dustin Hoffman apologized, and said he was sorry if he “put her in an uncomfortable situation”.
In a statement to the magazine, the Oscar-winning actor 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.”
Senior editor Michael Oreskes has resigned from National Public Radio (NPR) following accusations he kissed female colleagues without their consent during business meetings.
The 63-year-old was asked to step down by the network in response to the allegations. He has previously worked for the Associated Press and the New York Times.
Two women spoke to the Washington Post on condition of anonymity, and reported stories of abrupt and unexpected kisses during business meetings. They said they were worried about career development if their names were made public.
One of the women said that while she met Michael Oreskes in the hope of getting a job with the New York Times, he suggested that they eat room service lunch in a hotel, before he unexpectedly kissed her and “slipped his tongue into her mouth”.
Michael Oreskes has not commented publicly on the allegations, and journalists at NPR report that they have tried to contact him for comment, without success.
Dustin Hoffman has been successfully treated for cancer and is “feeling great”, his spokeswoman announces.
Publicist Jodi Gottlieb said Dustin Hoffman, 75, had been “surgically cured”, after the cancer was detected at an early stage. No further details were given.
Dustin Hoffman has been successfully treated for cancer and is feeling great
People magazine reported Dustin Hoffman would undergo treatments to prevent the cancer returning.
Dustin Hoffman won the best actor Oscar for Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) and Rain Man (1988).
The actor will appear in the comedy movie Chef with Scarlett Johansson and Robert Downey Jr. next year.
Dustin Hoffman’s directorial debut Quartet came out last year.
Jodi Gottlieb said Dustin Hoffman was “feeling great and in good health”.
TV network HBO is being sued by Barbara Casey who claims she was unfairly dismissed from horseracing drama Luck.
Luck, which starred Dustin Hoffman, was axed after several animals died.
Barbara Casey, ex-director of the American Humane Association (AHA) film and production unit, says producers “engaged in ongoing, systematic and unlawful animal abuse”.
An HBO statement said precautions were taken “to ensure that our horses were treated humanely”.
Barbara Casey’s lawsuit also accuses the American Humane Association (AHA) of bending to pressure from the TV network “to allow the use of unsuitable horses”.
She said her employment was wrongfully terminated after she threatened to report animal mistreatment.
HBO added in its statement to The Hollywood Reporter: “Barbara Casey was not an employee of HBO, and any questions regarding her employment should be directed to the AHA.”
HBO is being sued by Barbara Casey who claims she was unfairly dismissed from horseracing drama Luck
The drama, in which Dustin Hoffman starred as a crime kingpin scheming to gain control of a racecourse, was cancelled last March during filming on its second season.
Several horses were injured and put down, and a statement at the time said it was “with heartbreak that HBO have decided to cease all future production”. It was shown in the UK on Sky Atlantic.
However, Barbara Casey claims the network engaged in efforts to “conceal and cover-up” animal safety violations while filming.
She said HBO “misidentified horses so that the humane officers and/or animal safety representatives could not track their medical histories, experience and/or suitability for use”.
Barbara Casey, who held her position with the AHA for 13 years, claimed officers witnessed horses being “drugged to perform” and “underweight and sick horses unsuited for work [being] routinely used”.
AHA said in a statement to movie website Deadline that it “is unable to comment on this pending legal matter”.
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama were in fine form during Sunday night’s Kennedy Center Honors, laughing and holding hands at the event, which recognize the nation’s most culturally influential artists, performers, actors, and musicians.
Wearing a stunning Michael Kors gold lamé dress embellished at the neckline, Michelle Obama dazzled as she entered the East Room of the White House with her husband, who was wearing a smartly-tailored tuxedo and an American flag on his lapel.
Barack Obama honored seven of the country’s most influential artists, including Dustin Hoffman, Chicago bluesman Buddy Guy, late night host David Letterman, ballerina Natalia Markarova, and surviving members of rock band Led Zeppelin.
The festivities later transitioned to the Kennedy Center, where fellow performers put on a show which will be broadcast later this month.
Stars from New York, Hollywood and the music world gathered Sunday in Washington to salute the honorees who were tonight receiving the nation’s highest award for artistically influential Americans.
“Tonight, we continue a tradition here at the White House by honoring some extraordinary people who have no business being on the same stage together,” Barack Obama began, joking to the recipients.
The president hailed the drive and vision of the honorees, noting that many, like blues musician Buddy Guy, grew up in conditions that didn’t foster creativity. Buddy Guy, for instance, was born into a family of Louisiana sharecroppers with no electricity or running water.
He went on to pioneer the use of distortion and feedback with his electric guitar.
“[Their] passion took each of them from humble beginnings to the pinnacle of their profession,” Barack Obama said, according to The Hill.
“Tonight in the People’s House, we have a chance to say thank you.”
Former president Bill Clinton also offered lavish praise to Buddy Guy.
“Buddy Guy’s life is a miracle,” Bill Clinton said.
“Just imagine you want to be a guitar player and you get your first strings by tearing off the screen door. … He came from that to this.”
Barack Obama honored seven of the US most influential artists, including Dustin Hoffman, Buddy Guy, David Letterman, ballerina Natalia Markarova, and surviving members of rock band Led Zeppelin
Late-night host David Letterman was one of the seven honored in the annual awards ceremony.
Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel joined in celebrating David Letterman’s influence on many other comedians.
“I knew Johnny, and I loved Johnny. Johnny was beyond reproach,” Stephen Colbert said in a toast to David Letterman.
“Dave was stupid. Dave was ours. Dave was like us.
“We wanted to throw things off of buildings. … We would love to stick our heads out the window of 30 Rock and yell at passers-by, <<I’m not wearing any pants!>>.”
Stephen Colbert marveled at David Letterman receiving such an award after he “corrupted the minds of a generation”.
Paul Shaffer, David Letterman’s longtime band leader, said he knew his boss was uncomfortable hearing such accolades, but that he knew Letterman was enjoying every second of it.
Meryl Streep introduced the honorees Saturday during a formal dinner at the U.S. State Department and noted that David Letterman had surpassed his mentor, Johnny Carson, in sustaining the longest late-night television career for more than 30 years.
To salute Led Zeppelin, big names from the rock world dressed in black tie for their music heroes as a string ensemble played the band’s hit song “Kashmir” and other tunes at the State Department.
Wearing a stunning Michael Kors gold lamé dress embellished at the neckline, Michelle Obama dazzled as she entered the East Room of the White House with her husband
Foo Fighters singer Dave Grohl said he never took any music lessons when he was starting out because “my teachers were Led Zeppelin. … They were the most powerful thing in my life”.
Lenny Kravitz said their influential music, at its zenith in the 1970s, became a lasting part of the culture of rock and roll.
“It’s very difficult,” he said.
“You get four guys that come together and make something so much more powerful than they all are.”
Zeppelin front man Robert Plant said he was flattered and overwhelmed in receiving the American culture prize. He said he was glad to see his former band mates, John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page, using good table manners.
The trio is scheduled to appear Monday on CBS’ Late Show with David Letterman. They are often asked if they’ll reunite. Robert Plant told The Associated Press he plans to continue traveling the world and wants to make new music along the way.
“If anybody wants to write some new songs, I’m game to write songs,” he said.
Dustin Hoffman was honored for charting his own path after taking a junior college class in acting that “nobody ever flunks”.
Meryl Streep, a 2011 honoree, said Dustin Hoffman’s quest to become an actor required waiting tables and typing for the yellow pages by day.
“He’d do anything if it meant at night he could find himself on the stage,” she said.
Glenn Close toasted Dustin Hoffman for defining the character actor as leading man in such movies as The Graduate, Rain Man and Tootsie – and as an artist who insisted on setting the highest standards for himself.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the ballerina Natalia Makarova “risked everything to have the freedom to dance the way she wanted to dance” when she defected from the Soviet Union in 1970.
Natalia Makarova quickly made her debut with the American Ballet Theatre and later was the first exiled artist to return to the Soviet Union before its fall to dance with the Kirov Ballet.
Hillary Clinton also took special note of David Letterman, saying he must be wondering what he’s doing in a crowd of talented artists and musicians.
“Dave and I have a history,” she said.
“I have been a guest on his show several times, and if you include references to my pant suits, I’m on at least once a week.”
The crowd of artists and entertainers gave Hillary Clinton a standing ovation as she hosted her final salute to the nation’s artists as secretary of State.
Kennedy Center Chairman David Rubenstein gave her a subtle nudge to run for president in 2016, saying there’s another room at the State Department to name after a secretary who later becomes president.
Dustin Hoffman, rock band Led Zeppelin and talk show host David Letterman are to be honored by Washington’s Kennedy Center.
The performance hall will give all three surviving Led Zeppelin members – John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant – individual awards.
Blues musician Buddy Guy and Russian ballerina Natalia Makarova will also be recognized at the gala in December.
President Barack Obama will also host a White House reception for them.
“With their extraordinary talent, creativity and tenacity, the seven 2012 Kennedy Center honorees have contributed significantly to the cultural life of our nation and the world,” said chairman David Rubenstein.
The award is the highest honor awarded to those that have influenced American culture through the arts, with Meryl Streep, Barbra Streisand and Oprah Winfrey among past recipients.
Dustin Hoffman, Led Zeppelin and David Letterman are to be honored by Kennedy Center
Led Zeppelin will be celebrated for transforming the sound of rock and roll and influencing other artists with blues-infused hits such as Stairway to Heaven.
The band issued a joint statement saying America was the first place to embrace their music.
“We owe a large debt to the vitality and variety of the music of the American people,” they added.
David Rubenstein called two-time Oscar-winner Dustin Hoffman, 75, “one of the most versatile and iconoclastic actors” of any generation.
The star of such films such as Rain Man, The Graduate and Tootsie recently made his directing debut with Quartet, to be screened at the London Film Festival next month.
Dustin Hoffman said he may have found a new calling with the film, which stars Dame Maggie Smith as one of a group of ageing opera singers and musicians reunited at a retirement home.
He also revealed he was last in Washington for Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2009, when it was very cold.
“Since I froze my [behind] off watching him be inaugurated, the least he could do is to shake my hand under the circumstances,” joked Dustin Hoffman.
Late night talk show host Letterman will be recognized as “one of the most influential personalities” on US TV.
The 65-year-old said it was a wonderful honor for his family, his co-workers and himself.
“I believe recognition at this prestigious level confirms my belief that there has been a mix-up,” he said in a statement.
“I am still grateful to be included.”
Chicago musician Buddy Guy, 76, has influenced many musicians over the past 50 years after pioneering the use of distortion and feedback with his electric guitar.
The “titan of the blues” said he did not know what he was doing at the time, but just wanted to turn up the sound so somebody could hear him when he was playing with the likes of BB King and Muddy Waters.
He said he was still pinching himself about his latest accolade.
“I’m hoping this will give the blues a lift,” he added.
Buddy Guy has already visited the White House this year, when he managed to persuade Barack
HBO has decided to cancel TV horse-racing drama Luck, which stars Dustin Hoffman and Nick Nolte, after a third animal was injured and put down during production.
The series was filming its second season when the incident happened.
In a statement, HBO said it was “with heartbreak” that it was ceasing “all future production” on Luck.
Produced by Michael Mann and David Milch, the series looks at the seedy side of life in US horse-racing.
It sees Dustin Hoffman play a crime kingpin scheming to gain control of a racetrack and introduce casino gambling.
Luck debuted in the US in January and will see its first season finale broadcast on 25 March.
It is currently being shown in the UK on the Sky Atlantic channel.
HBO has decided to cancel TV horse-racing drama Luck, which stars Dustin Hoffman and Nick Nolte, after a third animal was injured and put down during production
The decision to cancel the entire series came one day after filming was suspended pending an investigation into the horse’s death.
“It is with heartbreak that executive producers David Milch and Michael Mann together with HBO have decided to cease all future production on the series <<Luck>>,” HBO said in its statement.
“While we maintained the highest safety standards possible, accidents unfortunately happen and it is impossible to guarantee they won’t in the future. Accordingly, we have reached this difficult decision.”
On Tuesday the American Humane Association (AHA) issued the suspension order, pending a “thorough and comprehensive investigation”.
HBO said the horse was being led to a stable by a groom when it reared and fell back, suffering a head injury.
The animal was put down at the track in suburban Arcadia, California, where Luck was filming.
Although the AHA – which oversees Hollywood productions – noted the accident did not occur during filming or racing, it issued the demand “that all production involving horses shut down”.
On Tuesday, California Horse Racing Board vet Dr. Gary Beck said he had just examined the horse as part of routine health and safety procedures before it was to race later in the day.
“The horse was on her way back to the stall when she reared, flipped over backwards, and struck her head on the ground,” Dr. Gary Beck said in a statement.
A second vet determined that euthanasia was appropriate, he added.
Dr. Rick Arthur, medical director of the state racing board, said such injuries occurred in stable areas every year and were more common than thought.
During filming of the first series in 2010 and 2011, two horses were hurt during racing scenes and were subsequently put down.
The AHA called for a production halt at the Santa Anita Racetrack after the second horse’s death, and racing resumed in February after new protocols were put in place.
The first two horse deaths drew criticism from animal rights group PETA, which said the safety guidelines were “clearly inadequate” as they failed to prevent the deaths.
On Tuesday, PETA vice-president Kathy Guillermo said: “Three horses have now died and all the evidence we have gathered points to sloppy oversight, the use of unfit, injured horses, and disregard for the treatment of thoroughbreds.”
People for the Ethical Treatment of the Animals (PETA) has called for TV and film safety rules to be tightened after two horses were put down during filming for HBO drama Luck.
The animals were injured in the making of the show starring Dustin Hoffman.
PETA said it “repeatedly reached out” to HBO before filming to offer safety advice but was “rebuffed”.
HBO, which worked with the American Humane Association, said both were “committed to ensuring all necessary safety procedures” were in place.
Luck, conceived by NYPD Blue creator David Milch, is billed as “a provocative look at the world of horse racing – the owners, gamblers, jockeys and diverse gaming industry players”.
The AHA said in a statement that the fatal accidents had taken place several months apart – one during the filming of a pilot episode and another during the filming of the seventh show.
AHA’s standard “no animals were harmed” statement was removed from the credits of both episodes.
PETA has called for TV and film safety rules to be tightened after two horses were put down during filming for HBO drama Luck
The AHA said both racehorses “stumbled and fell during short racing sequences”.
“The horses were checked immediately afterwards by the onsite veterinarians and in each case a severe fracture deemed the condition inoperable,” it added.
“The decision was that the most humane course of action was euthanasia.”
It listed a series of precautions taken including that each horse was “limited to three runs per day and was rested in between those runs”.
In a statement released to the New York Observer, HBO said filming was suspended after the second accident “while the production worked with AHA and racing industry experts to adopt additional protocols specifically for horse racing sequences”.
They included “the hiring of an additional veterinarian and radiography of the legs of all horses being used by the production”.
“HBO fully adopted all of AHA’s rigorous safety guidelines before production resumed.”
But, in a blog on its website, PETA said: “Perhaps if producers had considered the proved safety protocols that we would have suggested, these horses would still be alive.”
It added that “two dead horses in a handful of episodes exemplify the dark side of using animals in television, movies, and ads”.
It said it was now in discussions with HBO “about how to prevent even more deaths on the show”.
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