Richard Dreyfuss is facing a sexual misconduct accusation just days after standing beside his son Harry who made his own claims against Kevin Spacey.
Los Angeles–based writer Jessica Teich decided to speak up with her experience with the elder Dreyfuss after seeing the exchange.
Teich claims she suffered for years as Dreyfuss made unwanted advances and finally exposed himself to her. She told Vulture, "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."
She continues her story, "I remember walking up the steps into the trailer and turning towards my left, and he was at the back of the trailer, and just — his penis was out, and he sort of tried to draw me close to it."
Dreyfuss, who was then already married with a child, is denying the allegations saying he thought it was an innocent flirtation between the two of them.
“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.”
He also spoke out about what he calls aggressive flirting, saying he was caught up in the mix of celebrity and drugs while following the masculinity model his father taught him.
"I became an asshole–the kind of performative masculine man my father had modeled for me to be. I lived by the motto, 'If you don’t flirt, you die.' ... I disrespected myself, and I disrespected [women] and ignored my own ethics, which I regret more deeply than I can express."
A family member and a close confidant confirmed Teich spoke to them about Dreyfuss' misconduct. She also told her therapist, who cannot confirm the information due to doctor-patient confidentiality.