Alec Baldwin has finally broken his silence about his close friend James Toback, the Oscar-nominated director and screenwriter who has been accused of sexual misconduct by more than 300 women—including stars like Selma Blair and Rachel McAdams. Toback initially denied the allegations, and has since remained quiet even as the number of accusers has swelled. Baldwin, meanwhile, has found himself in hot water over the unfolding scandal, due primarily to his role in the 2013 Toback documentary Seduced and Abandoned. When Decider writer Kayla Cobb wrote about the jarring experience of watching that film after the Toback scandal broke, Baldwin replied with a furious barrage of tweets, calling her a “dreadful writer,” telling her to stick to writing about “divorces and plastic surgery,” and complaining that the Web site “wants to tar me w[ith] the Toback brush.” The Emmy winner instantly caught flak for his remarks.
Baldwin has since decided to speak to the Los Angeles Times about his friendship with Toback, revealing that the two have spoken since the allegations broke. But Baldwin’s main objective seems to be distancing himself from the controversy. The interview quotes Baldwin saying that he and the director “never had one conversation about his sex life.” It’s a sentiment he apparently repeated throughout the chat, though Baldwin did also admit that he had heard rumors about Toback’s “peculiar” tactics with women. “I remember years ago, with [the movie] The Pick-up Artist, Jimmy had this reputation 20, 25 years ago or more of hitting on [women], going up and saying provocative things to them. I’d heard of that. But in my time with Jimmy, it was absolutely, positively business.”
The actor also spoke about his relationship with the filmmaker, defending himself from people who think he didn’t speak up about Toback soon enough. (The first L.A. Times story about Toback was published October 22.)
“I don’t have any information firsthand about what I’m hearing . . . granted, you”—i.e. reporter Glenn Whipp, who broke the story of Toback’s alleged misconduct—“are a lightning rod, and hundreds of people have contacted you,” Baldwin said. “That’s the reason I’m calling, because I can’t assume that all these people are lying. And I feel terrible.” Baldwin added that his own agent also reached out to him, telling Baldwin to say something about the allegations.
The actor continued, however, by noting that he’s not particularly shocked that more than 300 women have spoken out against the director: “Jimmy is one of these guys whose attitude is, ‘If I bed 10 of every 100 women I approach, then if I want to sleep with a 100 women, I’ve got to ask 1,000 women.‘ It’s all very much like that. A quantitative thing. And knowing that with Jimmy, 300 doesn’t surprise me.”
Baldwin also elaborated on his relationship with Toback, praising the disgraced filmmaker: “Jimmy is one of the smartest, he’s one of the cleverest,” he said. “He went to Harvard, super-intellect. Jimmy is one of the greatest conversationalists in the world.”
He noted as well that he has spoken to Toback since the initial L.A. Times report broke the story wide open. “I spoke with him a couple of times,” Baldwin said. “He’s obviously crushed by all of this. I did call him, and I think he understands how people are. There’s not much people can do for him now.”
