James Toback is accused of sexual misconduct by THIRTY-EIGHT women used a '12-step playbook' - Daily Mail

Thirty-eight women have come together to file a joint lawsuit alleging director James Toback is a 'serial sexual predator.' .

The director is also alleged to have told several victims that he had murdered people in the past including a therapist at Harvard and that he 'had killed someone with a fork' - and had contacts with the mob, in order to scare off any would-be whistleblowers.

Toback also threatened to ruin women's careers if they ever told anyone about the alleged assaults.

The suit states how Toback, 78, would make the women 'act provocatively' and then goad them into performing sexual acts on him all under the guise 'to see if they were right for the alleged role'  - which usually did not exist. .

The claims of sexual abuse date back to 1984 and allege Toback 'blacklisted, physically harmed or threatened to kill' women if they did not comply.

'Defendant Toback targeted young women using the same ruse over and over again with hundreds of victims, often using the same lines, enablers, and locations where he was able to perpetrate his abuse upon unsuspecting young women, including Plaintiffs, for decades,' the lawsuit claims. .

In addition to Toback, the women are suing the swanky Harvard Club of New York City for allegedly being complicit and allowing 'Toback's abuse to continue unchecked.'.

'Toback repeatedly used his membership and affiliation with the Harvard Club of New York City to facilitate and carry out his abuse, luring his victims to the Harvard Club for meals and drinks and attacking them in the Harvard Club's dining room, stairwells, bathrooms and hotel rooms,' the court documents claim.

Toback was 'allowed unfettered access in and around the Harvard Club' and 'repeatedly used the prestige and privacy' despite several women reporting the director. .

The club is alleged to have done nothing about his behavior and the suit accuses the club of gross negligence for allowing Toback to maintain his membership and use its facilities.

The suit details how in 2018, five women reported their personal accounts of sexual abuse by Toback to the Harvard Club. .

One woman alleged the director 'hunted us on the streets of New York City' and 'conned us with the promise of auditions at the Harvard Club,' using the club's 'name as bait to prey on young women.' .

'He exploited the dreams and vulnerabilities of hundreds of young women,' the woman further alleged noting how the club 'continually catered to Toback's needs, providing him a safe haven for his reprehensible and criminal acts.'.

When Toback wasn't using the club he is alleged to have assaulted his victims at various other locations around New York including his editing studio, apartment, hotel rooms, public parks, and even his mother's house.

Actress Selma Blair once revealed how Toback threatened to gouge her eyes out and kill her if she said that he sexually assaulted her.

'I've literally been afraid for 17 years of James Toback who threatened to murder me and, you know, put cement shoes on and gouge my eyes out with a Bic pen if I ever told anybody,' she told The Talk in January 2018