James Gunn Backs Up Harassment Claims Against James Toback: “I Couldn’t Stop Him, But I Could Warn People About Him”

Following the LA Times’ report on the accusations against director James Toback, in which 31 women made on-the-record statements recounting incidents of sexual harassment, James Gunn has come forward to back up those claims. In a lengthy Facebook post, the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise-helmer says that not only has he been aware of Toback’s misconduct for years, he’s spent the last two decades “bringing up James Toback every chance I could in groups of people. I couldn’t stop him, but I could warn people about him.”

Toback has been accused of approaching women and asking them sexually lewd questions, sometimes in social situations and sometimes in other situations wherein Toback would either dry hump the women or masturbate in front of them. Gunn became aware of Toback’s alleged practices back in the ’90s when he lived in New York. “[T]his dude was EVERYWHERE,” writes Gunn. “I have personally met at least FIFTEEN WOMEN, probably more, who say that he’s accosted them in NYC.”

Gunn has a personal connection to many women who have accused Toback of sexual misdeeds over the decades: “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. AND THAT’S JUST PEOPLE I KNOW. It’s not even mentioning the many other accounts going all the way back to an article that came out in SPY magazine in 1989 detailing this behavior, and I’m not including all the people I’ve talked to online who’ve had experiences. I mean, statistically, it would seem his numbers would have to be at least in the thousands.”

As years passed by, Gunn heard less about Toback and hoped that he had “disappeared into obscurity and old age,” but he recently learned that he has a movie at the Venice Film Festival, one that led to an article on the Huffington Post that caused Gunn to wonder if anyone remembered Toback’s reputation from 25 years ago. That being said, Gunn was happy to see the LA Times report, and he “told the women who would come forward I had their back. This is me doing my best to fulfill that promise.”

In an addendum to his initial Facebook post, Gunn explained that this is not the first time he has spoken publicly about Toback, although calling Toback out prior to this LA Times report did place Gunn in possible legal jeopardy due to America’s laws regarding slander and libel. “If I actually SAW something, it would be a different story. But simply sharing secondhand stories is legally complicated, and could open me to being sued. It is necessary that firsthand accounts come out to get these stories noticed, whether it’s from the victim or someone else who witnesses what’s occurring.”

Toback received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay for the 1991 film Bugsy. He directed Robert Downey Jr. in three films: The Pick-Up Artist, Two Girls and a Guy, and Black and White. You can read Gunn’s entire statement below.