John Oliver has regrets about confronting Dustin Hoffman, but accusers thank him anyway
Earlier this month, John Oliver confronted Dustin Hoffman during a panel about Wag The Dog over sexual misconduct allegations that have been brought against the actor—allegations that have since expanded. The discussion got predictably tense, with Hoffman basically dismissing everything and Oliver simply trying to address the “elephant in the room” because it had yet to be properly recognized. Nothing really came out of the talk, other than Michael Rapaport stepping in like a big asshole and getting mad at Oliver for being a “selfish fuck” who didn’t properly address the accused harasser—and accused assaulter—as “Mr. Hoffman.”
Oliver probably doesn’t give a damn about that, but he recently appeared on the U.K.’s The Russell Howard Hour (via Variety) and expressed some disappointment about how the confrontation went down. He said that he had hoped the talk “would have been more constructive,” but he thinks he failed. “It felt unavoidable and that we had to have a discussion about it,” he said, adding that “it wasn’t ideal” that it became a “big story” because then everyone was talking about his questions rather than Hoffman’s answers. “The questions weren’t particularly remarkable,” he admits, “but his answers were kind of not great.”
Despite Oliver’s regrets, seven women who have accused Hoffman of sexual misconduct have released a joint statement thanking the Last Week Tonight host for publicly confronting Hoffman. In the message, they highlight that Oliver “put himself at risk,” saying that “change will depend on men reflecting on their own behavior and challenging other men to do the same.”