James Toback Ordered To Pay $1.68 Billion To Women Who Accused Him Of Sexual Harassment
More than seven years after dozens of women accused director James Toback of sexual assault, false imprisonment, coercion and psychological abuse, a New York State jury today awarded $1.68 Billion to 40 of those women. The jury awarded a total of $280 Million in compensatory damages and $1.4 Billion for punitive damages to the plaintiffs.
The lawsuit was filed under New York’s Adult Survivors Act, which opened a one-year window allowing survivors of sexual abuse to file civil claims regardless of how long ago the abuse occurred.
“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, lead counsel for the plaintiffs.
“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.”
Toback is the director of, among other films, Two Girls and a Guy, was Oscar-nominated for writing Warren Beatty’s Bugsy and most recently wrote and directed The Private Life of a Modern Woman, starring Sienna Miller and Alec Baldwin.
Actress Mary Monahan, a lead plaintiff who helped launch the case, 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. This verdict is more than a number—it’s a declaration. 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.”
Rumors about Toback started surfacing in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein revelations, with actress Selma Blair in 2017 retweeting an article in the Huffington Post titled “James Toback Gets Us, He Truly Gets Us in ‘The Private Life of a Modern Woman’”.
Blair added a one-word commentary: “Ironic.”
Among the women on record with The LA Times in 2017 were Louise Post, guitarist and singer for rock band Veruca Salt; Starr Rinaldi, an aspiring actress approached by Toback 15 years ago in Central Park; and New York drama teacher, actor and playwright Karen Sklaire Watson
“I’ve lived in New York City for 32 years. This is my home,” said Sklaire Watson in a statement. “Today’s verdict makes this city safer for every woman who calls it home. We’re drawing a line in the sand: predators cannot hide behind fame, money, or power. Not here. Not anymore.”.
Oscar-winner Julianne Moore later shared her own story.
“JamesToback approached me in the 80’s on Columbus Ave with the same language – wanted me to audition, come to his apt.”
“I refused. One month later he did it again with the EXACT same language. I said don’t u remember u did this before?”
In addition, Today show host Natalie Morales said she had an experience with Toback akin to Moore’s.
In an interview with USA Today around the same time, Grey’s Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo said that there was a situation where she told Toback to “go **** himself.” Pompeo said that the incident happened in a public place where she met Toback. She brought along a male friend which she said Toback didn’t appreciate.
“The minute my friend left, he asked me if I would get naked in a movie,” said Pompeo. “And I was like, ‘Really, dude? My friend has been missing all of 30 seconds and now you say that? I kind of laughed in his face.”
Toback, now 80, denied the allegations to The Times, adding that for decades, it had been “biologically impossible” for him to engage in the behavior described by the women in the story, saying he had diabetes and a heart condition that required medication.
