Los Angeles Times

Rachel McAdams Accuses James Toback of Sexual Harassment

McAdams said the incident has haunted her for years

Over the weekend, Los Angeles Times reporter Glenn Whipp published an exposé about director James Toback, whom 38 women have accused of sexual harassment. And Thursday, Whipp tweeted that the number of accusers has risen — to more than 300 women.

One of those women is Rachel McAdams.

Speaking to Vanity Fair, McAdams says she was a 21-year-old theater student when she met Toback, who encouraged her to try out for a role in the film "Harvard Man." After her audition, he suggested they workshop it together. McAdams says Toback told her to leave her phone number with a casting agent's assistant, and he called her that night — to invite her to his hotel.

Since she had to be up early the next day, she asked if they could meet another time. "I didn't really want to go to a hotel and meet him. He said, 'It has to be tonight. I am going out of town first thing tomorrow. This is our only chance.'" McAdams says she "really didn't want to go," but Toback "was so insistent" that she agreed to meet.

"He had all of these books and magazines splayed out on the floor. He invited me to sit on the floor, which was a bit awkward. Pretty quickly the conversation turned quite sexual and he said, 'You know, I just have to tell you. I have masturbated countless times today thinking about you since we met at your audition.'"

Actresses Denounce James Toback Over Sexual Harassment Claims

McAdams became even more uncomfortable when she says Toback became "manipulative," asking her things like "How brave are you?" and "How far you are willing to go as an actress?"

After Toback asked her to read reviews about his work, she recalls thinking, "When are we getting to the rehearsal part?" McAdams says he then excused himself to go to the bathroom. "When he came back he said, 'I just (masturbated) in the bathroom thinking about you. Will you show me your pubic hair?' I said no," she tells Vanity Fair. "Eventually, I just excused myself."

The alleged incident haunted McAdams for years. Toback had no comment on any of the allegations when Vanity Fair reached him Wednesday. E! News has also asked for a statement.

"This has been such a source of shame for me, that I didn't have the wherewithal to get up and leave. I kept thinking, 'This is going to become normal any minute now. This is going to all make sense. This is all above board somehow,'" the "Mean Girls" star says. "Eventually I just realized that it wasn't."

McAdams says she feels "very lucky" that Toback did not "physically assault" her.

"I really was frozen," McAdams adds. "My brain was not catching up."

Toback, 72, denied the allegations to The Los Angeles Times, claiming he didn't recall ever meeting any of the original 38 accusers — but said that if he did, the meetings were very brief. The director also said it was "biologically impossible" for him to sexually assault any of his accusers, as it has been for 22 years, due to complications from diabetes and a heart condition.

"I did not want to talk about this ever again," McAdams tells Vanity Fair. "However, even though it is a really bad memory, I feel like some good could come from talking about it now."

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