Director ordered to pay $1.6 billion in sex abuse case involving young actresses

James Toback, the shamed filmmaker who faced allegations of sexual misconduct from numerous women during the peak of the #MeToo movement, has been instructed to pay over one billion dollars as a result of a sexual assault case in New York City.

Following a trial, a jury ruled that the 80-year-old screenwriter and filmmaker must pay $1.68 billion following claims from 40 women who united to accuse him of sexual assault, false imprisonment, coercion, and emotional abuse, as per Variety.

Earlier in the case, Toback denied each of the women’s allegations and claimed that any sexual activity between them had been consensual.

Although 40 women were involved in the lawsuit that number is just a fraction of the women who have accused Toback of sexual misconduct.

An article in the Los Angeles Times in 2018 revealed that an astonishing 395 women had sent letters to the publication alleging that Toback had sexually harassed or assaulted them.

The smaller subsection of women involved in the lawsuit reportedly won their case on summary judgement, as Toback did not attend the trial. 

James Toback, the disgraced filmmaker accused of sexually assaulting dozens of women at the height of the #MeToo movement, has been ordered to pay more than a billion dollars after a sexual assault trial in NYC; pictured with Alec and Hilaria Baldwin in Cannes, France, in 2013

40 women testified in court or appeared in video depositions to accuse Toback, 80, of sexual assault, false imprisonment, coercion and psychological abuse, according to Variety; pictured in 2017 in Venice

Although the lawsuit was filed back in December of 2022, the trial only began this year and lasted for just seven days.

All 40 of the women spoke at the trial, with half testifying in person for the jury while the other half testified via video depositions.

The $1.68 billion judgment is reportedly divided between $280 million in compensatory damages and $1.4 billion punitive damages.

It was only possible for their lawsuit to be filed because of New York’s Adult Survivors Act, which created a one-year window in which alleged sexual abuse survivors could levy civil claims, even if their abuse had occurred outside the statute of limitations.

‘This verdict is about justice. But more importantly, It’s about taking power back from the abusers — and their and enablers — and returning it to those he tried to control and silence,’ said Brad Beckworth, the lead counsel for the plaintiffs, after the verdict was announced.

‘Today, a jury from the greater New York Community spoke very clearly and sent a message that reverberates far beyond this courtroom: no one is above accountability. The movement is not over. There is more work to do.’ 

The actress Mary Monahan, the lead plaintiff for the lawsuit, said: ‘This is not just a verdict — it’s validation. 

‘For decades, I carried this trauma in silence, and today, a jury believed me. Believed us. That changes everything,’ she continued. ‘This verdict is more than a number — it’s a declaration. 

The $1.68 billion judgment is reportedly divided between $280 million in compensatory damages and $1.4 billion punitive damages; pictured with Robert Pattinson in 2013 in Beverly Hills

Although 40 women were involved in the lawsuit that number is just a fraction of the hundreds who have accused Toback of sexual misconduct; Toback pictured with Francis Ford Coppola and Rosanna Arquette in LA in 2008

Multiple alleged that Toback’s harassment and abuse occurred at meetings set up to look like interviews or auditions but were held in hotel rooms or movie trailers. They accused him of peppering them with sexual questions as he allegedly masturbated or rubbed his crotch against them; seen with former collaborator Molly Ringwald in 2013 in NYC

‘We are not disposable. We are not liars. We are not collateral damage in someone else’s power trip. The world knows now what we’ve always known: what he did was real. And what we did — standing up, speaking out — was right.’ 

Fellow plaintiff Karen Sklaire Watson declared that New York City was now a safer place for women after the verdict against Toback

‘We’re drawing a line in the sand: Predators cannot hide behind fame, money, or power,’ she said via a statement. ‘Not here. Not anymore.’

Toback was first hit with numerous accusations of sexual harassment and sexual assault in 2017, shortly after numerous women spoke out against disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein. 

Multiple women came forward after a tweet that year in which Selma Blair shared a Huffington Post article titled ‘James Toback Gets Us, He Truly Gets Us in “The Private Life Of A Modern Woman,”‘ referring to his 2017 film starring Alec Baldwin and Sienna Miller, which was later retitled An Imperfect Murder.

‘Ironic,’ Blair said of the headline.

Shortly afterward, 38 women alleged that they had been sexually harassed by Toback to the Los Angeles Times, and that number grew by hundreds by 2018. 

Much like Weinstein, Toback had been the subject of rumors circulating in Hollywood for decades, though it wasn’t until the sexual misconduct of famous men took on new significance with the #MeToo movement that a torrent of alleged victims began to come forward.

A 2017 tweet by Selma Blair initially led dozens of women to share stories of Toback’s alleged sexual harassment and sexual assault, and the number had grown to at least 395 by 2018; seen in NYC in 2013

One accuser claimed to the Los Angeles Times that the expression ‘to be Toback-ed’ began to circulate in reference to sexual abuse ‘by a creepy writer–director,’ via Deadline; pictured with Russell Simmons in 2013 in Beverly Hills

Toback became a New Hollywood darling in the ’70s, but his dark dramas of the ’80s were poorly reviewed and underperformed. He began a long collaboration with Robert Downey Jr. when he starred opposite Molly Ringwald in 1987’s The Pick-up Artist (pictured)

In fact, one accuser claimed to the Los Angeles Times that the expression ‘to be Toback-ed’ began to circulate in reference to sexual abuse ‘by a creepy writer–director,’ via Deadline.

Women who wrote to the LA Times alleged that Toback’s harassment and abuse had occurred at meetings that were set up to look like interviews or auditions but were held in unprofessional settings like hotel rooms or movie trailers. 

Several women accused the filmmaker of peppering them with inappropriate sexual questions as he allegedly masturbated or rubbed his crotch against them. 

After Selma Blair opened the floodgates of accusations, she later shared her story in detail and even claimed Toback threatened to kill her in the past if she ever spoke of the sexual harassment. 

Other stars including Julianne Moore and Rachel McAdams later claimed to have been sexually harassed by Toback. 

The filmmaker’s current net worth is unclear, though the women are likely to recover just a small fraction of the astounding amount awarded.

‘We’ll try to recover it, but that’s not the only motivating factor,’ said Ross Leonoudakis, an attorney for women suing Toback. ‘We saw a unique opportunity to help these survivors seek justice.’

Toback was at one time considered a key figure in the New Hollywood movement after he wrote the acclaimed 1974 crime drama The Gambler — which starred James Caan — and wrote and directed the Harvey Keitel–starring cult classic fingers in 1978. 

His later movies were bombs, and his last film to date, 2017’s An Imperfect Murder, was hurt by the allegations against him. It starred Toback’s longtime friend and defender, Alec Baldwin; (L–R) former HBO CEO Richard Plepler, Alec and Hilaria Baldwin and Toback in 2013 in NYC

But he failed to live up to that promise with subsequent dark dramas of the 1980s.

In 1987 he established a long partnership with Robert Downey Jr. when he took on a lead role opposite Molly Ringwald in Toback’s romantic dramedy The Pick-up Artist, which received mixed review and failed to make back its $15 million budget. 

Amid a run of poorly received directorial efforts, Toback resuscitated his career with the 1991 gangster drama Bugsy, which was directed by Barry Levinson and starred Warren Beatty as the mobster Bugsy Siegel, along with his future wife Annette Benning. 

The film was a modest success at the box office but was a hit with critics, and it went on to win Oscars for Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design, while Toback received a nomination for his screenplay.

Downey starred in two subsequent Toback films, 1997’s Two Girls And A Guy and 1999’s Black And White. 

Toback’s later movies were critical and commercial bombs, and his last film to date, 2017’s An Imperfect Murder, was further hurt by the emerging allegations against him.

It starred Toback’s longtime friend and defender, Alec Baldwin.