Dustin Hoffman Addresses #MeToo Allegations in New Memoir ‘Look at Me,’ Comparing Backlash to McCarthy Era

admin · November 13, 2026 · 8 min read

Open memoir book with vintage Hollywood film imagery, illustrating Dustin Hoffman's 'Look at Me'

Dustin Hoffman Addresses #MeToo Allegations in New Memoir ‘Look at Me,’ Comparing Backlash to McCarthy Era

Dustin Hoffman has broken nine years of near-silence about the sexual misconduct allegations that upended his life in 2017, addressing them directly in his new memoir, Look at Me, published on November 10. The 89-year-old, two-time Academy Award winner denies sexual wrongdoing while acknowledging that his behavior made some women uncomfortable — and he compares the public backlash he faced to the McCarthy-era Hollywood blacklist.

The book, written with New Yorker staff writer Ariel Levy and published by Scribner, runs 320 pages and traces roughly 60 years of Hoffman’s acting life, from his childhood and years as an unknown actor to signature films including The Graduate, Kramer vs. Kramer, Tootsie and Rain Man. Its most closely watched chapter is the one in which he confronts the allegations that emerged during the #MeToo movement.

“I Made Some Women Uncomfortable”

Hoffman writes candidly about his own conduct, while drawing a firm line between behavior he now recognizes as inappropriate and the sexual assault claims made against him.

“I’m sure it’s true that in my life, especially forty years ago, I made some women uncomfortable,” he writes, according to excerpts published by People and reported by OK Magazine.

He continues: “But ‘uncomfortable’ is a subjective emotional state. What is crass and offensive to one person, another individual might find hilarious, or enlivening, or even sort of cozy.”

Hoffman, who says he “loves a so-called dirty joke,” notes that fellow actor Bill Murray once called him a “Borscht Belt flirt.” But he insists the joking was not coercion. “That’s not the same thing as pressuring someone to do something they didn’t want to do,” he writes.

He admits it took him “an embarrassingly long time to grasp that if I was flirting or my jokes were too dirty, people who were not my wife [Lisa] might think I was being inappropriate.”

“I know I’m harmless, she knows I’m harmless, but if you’d never met me before, would you know?” he asks. “I’m not looking to humiliate or offend anybody. I’m not a person who gets off on having power, or pressuring people to do things. To be perfectly honest, I never thought of myself as a person with power in the first place.”

A Comparison to the McCarthy Era

The memoir’s most provocative passage is Hoffman’s comparison of the scrutiny he faced to the 1950s McCarthy era, when Hollywood figures suspected of communist sympathies were blacklisted.

“There was no innocent until proven guilty. There was no proving’ anything at all,” he writes, according to OK Magazine.

Hoffman describes going “into a state of shock” when the allegations surfaced, and says he was “sort of bewildered by how to defend myself… or if I should even try.” He writes that the accusations were “so crazy” that he did not know where to begin.

“I didn’t want to be fighting against something that I thought was important. I didn’t want to be on the wrong side of my own values,” he writes. “The only problem was that things were being said about me that just weren’t true.”

At the same time, Hoffman says he welcomed the broader #MeToo movement, calling it a “reckoning” in Hollywood and “a very good thing.” He writes: “I knew by then that plenty of women had put up with way too much for way too long in my industry. Not for a second did I worry that anything negative would be said about me, because the idea of taking something from someone sexually that they didn’t want to give… it’s just not something I’ve ever done.”

What Happened in 2017

In 2017, six women came forward with allegations against Hoffman involving sexual harassment, assault and indecent exposure. Three of them spoke to Variety, accusing him of sexual harassment, sexual assault and exposing himself to a minor.

The first account came from Anna Graham Hunter, who said Hoffman groped her when she was a 17-year-old intern on the set of the 1985 television movie adaptation of Death of a Salesman. Hoffman apologized at the time for any behavior that made her uncomfortable, while his attorney dismissed the allegations as defamatory falsehoods in a statement to Variety.

No lawsuits or criminal charges were ever filed against Hoffman over the allegations. He has consistently denied non-consensual sexual conduct, while acknowledging that some women may have felt uncomfortable around him more than 40 years ago.

The memoir revisits that period at length, including the personal toll it took. Hoffman writes that his “entire life changed” after the accusations, and describes relying on his wife, Lisa, during the period of intense public scrutiny.

A Career Looked Back On

Beyond the controversy, Look at Me is a sweeping career memoir. Hoffman writes about nearly walking away from Rain Man, the 1988 film that won him his second Academy Award for best actor. He says he “almost quit Rain Man because I couldn’t find the character,” feeling “ridiculous, totally fake” playing Raymond Babbitt until a scene with co-star Tom Cruise unlocked the performance, according to Entertainment Weekly, as reported by Men’s Journal.

The book also includes chapters on his experiences working on the controversial 1971 film Straw Dogs and the 1982 hit Tootsie, and reflections on his childhood, his family and his marriage.

Early reviews have been warm. The Los Angeles Times called the memoir a “gossipy, entertaining collection” in a review published on November 10, and Kirkus gave it a starred review, praising it as an era-defining actor’s account of his life.

Hoffman most recently appeared in the films Tuner and Diamond in 2026, and he attended the New York premiere of Tuner in May.

Why This Matters

Hoffman’s memoir lands at a moment when Hollywood is still working through the legacy of the #MeToo era — how to weigh accountability against due process, and how public figures address past conduct years later. His book is one of the most direct attempts by a major star accused in 2017 to tell his side of the story in full, in his own words, rather than through a brief statement or interview.

The McCarthy comparison is certain to draw debate. Critics of that framing note that the blacklist destroyed careers through government power, while supporters of Hoffman’s point argue that the speed and finality of online judgment can feel similarly impossible to answer. Either way, the passage guarantees the memoir will be discussed well beyond its literary merits.

It also arrives as the entertainment world continues to grapple with new misconduct cases. Just this week, six more women accused Russell Brand of sexual misconduct, a reminder that the questions raised in 2017 have not gone away.

Latest Developments

Look at Me went on sale in bookstores on November 10, and was featured on The New York Times’ list of November must-reads and NPR’s fall books roundup. Simon & Schuster describes the book as “warm, candid, hilarious and deeply moving,” an intimate memoir about “art, ambition, family, friendship, love, ageing and the mysteries of a creative life.”

Hoffman has not announced a book tour or further interviews about the memoir as of publication. Whether he expands on the book’s claims in public appearances remains to be seen.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Dustin Hoffman’s memoir called?

Look at Me, written with New Yorker staff writer Ariel Levy and published by Scribner on November 10, 2026. It is 320 pages long and covers roughly 60 years of Hoffman’s acting life.

What does Hoffman say about the 2017 allegations?

He denies sexual wrongdoing and non-consensual conduct, while admitting he “made some women uncomfortable” and that his jokes could be too raunchy. He says the accusations were untrue and compares the backlash to the McCarthy era, writing, “There was no innocent until proven guilty.”

How many women accused Dustin Hoffman in 2017?

Six women came forward in 2017 with allegations including sexual harassment, assault and indecent exposure. Three spoke to Variety. No lawsuits or criminal charges were filed.

What films does Hoffman discuss in the memoir?

Among others, The Graduate, Kramer vs. Kramer, Tootsie, Rain Man — which he nearly quit — and the controversial 1971 film Straw Dogs.

Final Paragraph

Nine years after the allegations that changed his life, Dustin Hoffman has finally given his full account — denying the gravest claims, owning the behavior he now sees as inappropriate, and framing the experience as a cautionary tale about judgment without a hearing. Whether readers accept that framing, Look at Me ensures the conversation about Hoffman, #MeToo and the line between discomfort and misconduct will continue.

Related coverage: Taylor Swift and Avengers: Endgame Encore.

Sources: