James Gunn Says He's Been Warning Women About James Toback

Over the weekend, yet another horrifying story of sexual harassment and assault from Hollywood emerged, in a jaw-dropping LA Times report about director James Toback. More than 30 women went on the record, revealing the filmmaker’s history of approaching women, arranging interviews or auditions with the promise of a potential career, only for those encounters to turn sexual against their consent. Since the story was published, the number of women stepping forward to share their stories has nearly doubled.

Sadly, much like Harvey Weinstein‘s reputation, it would appear that Toback’s behavior was an open secret. In a lengthy Facebook post, “Guardians Of The Galaxy” director James Gunn revealed that he has been warning women about Toback for two decades. Here’s some of what he had to say:

When I lived in New York, in the ‘nineties, this dude was EVERYWHERE. I have personally met at least FIFTEEN WOMEN, probably more, who say that he’s accosted them in NYC. He essentially goes up to women and says, “Hey, I’m James Toback, and I’m a famous director, and I feel like there’s a connection between us.” Then he shows them some article on himself or some other artifact to prove he is who he is, and tries to get them to go somewhere else with him.

He has done this to three girls I’ve dated, two of my very best friends, and a family member… twice. Yes, he came up to her twice with the same stupid line, not realizing she was the same person. This is in addition to many other women I’ve talked to at parties or dinners about their interactions with Toback….

….So I did what I could do in my impotent state – for over twenty years now, I’ve been bringing up James Toback every chance I could in groups of people. I couldn’t stop him, but I could warn people about him.

In an update to the post, Gunn responded to those who accused him of staying silent on the issue by stressing, “I have publicly written Facebook posts about Toback and what he was doing, as well as mentioning him on my web site and on MySpace. I don’t know why suddenly people are just assuming I didn’t just because I don’t mention it here.”

Lastly, this isn’t the first time women have come forward about Toback. In 1989, Spy magazine published a story in which a dozen women went on the record about their encounters with the director (you can read the article by clicking below — it starts on page 86).

Spy Magazine March 1989 by Spy Magazine on Scribd