Richard Dreyfuss denies exposing himself to writer after she claimed he spent YEARS harassing her
RICHARD Dreyfuss has denied exposing himself to a writer who claimed he spent YEARS sexually harassing her during the production of a 1980s TV comedy special.
Jessica Teich alleged the Jaws actor, 70, regularly made lewd comments and invitations after they met at a theatre where she worked.
Dreyfuss' agent Barry McPherson today denied he ever exposed his genitals to Teich but said that the 70-year-old acknowledged other encounters were inappropriate.
In an interview with yesterday, Teich said she decided to speak out after Dreyfuss tweeted support for his son, Harry who went public with accusations that Kevin Spacey groped his crotch when he was 18.
In 1987, when Teich was working for Dreyfuss on an ABC show script - Funny, You Don’t Look 200: A Constitutional Vaudeville - she claims she was summoned to his trailer.
Teich claimed that Dreyfuss, who was 12 years older, exposed his genitals and "tried to draw her close to it".
She said she left immediately, calling it an "out-of-body experience".
Speaking about Dreyfuss' tweet supporting his son, she said: “He was in a position of so much power over me, and I didn’t feel I could tell anyone about it.
"It just seemed so hypocritical.”
The LA-based writer also claims that Dreyfuss, who starred in Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind, would persistently try to kiss her, pass "I love you" notes and "constantly steer conversations to this yucky, insinuating thing".
Dreyfuss, who won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1977, is also famous for roles in American Graffiti and Mr Holland's Opus.
He has three children with his first wife Jeramie Rain, and he is now married to his third wife, Svetlana Erokhin.
In a statement Dreyfuss told Vulture: "I emphatically deny ever “exposing” myself to Jessica Teich, whom I have considered a friend for 30 years.
"I did flirt with her, and I remember trying to kiss Jessica as part of what I thought was a consensual seduction ritual that went on and on for many years.
"I am horrified and bewildered to discover that it wasn’t consensual. I didn’t get it.
"It makes me reassess every relationship I have ever thought was playful and mutual."
Hollywood and other industries have been flooded with sexual harassment claims after producer Harvey Wienstein was accused of sexually assaulting and raping number of leading actresses.
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