'Transparent' co-star alleges impropriety by Jeffrey Tambor, wants Amazon to 'remove the problem'
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An actress on "Transparent" says the show's star, Jeffrey Tambor, pressed his body against hers in a sexually aggressive manner during filming and made inappropriate and unwanted sexual statements.
Tambor, 73, denied the allegations and said he has "never been a predator — ever."
The actress, Trace Lysette, who is herself transgender, said in a statement to Deadline Thursday that Tambor trapped her and pressed his body against hers in a sexual way on the set of the Amazon show. Lysette urged Amazon in her statement to "remove the problem and let the show go on."
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Amazon says it is adding the information to an investigation of Tambor it opened last week, when his assistant made similar allegations.
Deadline reported that Tambor said in a statement that he is sorry if any of his actions have been misinterpreted or hurt anyone.
“For the past four years, I’ve had the huge privilege – and huge responsibility – of playing Maura Pfefferman, a transgender woman, in a show that I know has had an enormous, positive impact on a community that has been too long dismissed and misunderstood,” Tambor said Thursday. “Now I find myself accused of behavior that any civilized person would condemn unreservedly.”
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He added: “I know I haven’t always been the easiest person to work with. I can be volatile and ill-tempered, and too often I express my opinions harshly and without tact. But I have never been a predator – ever. I am deeply sorry if any action of mine was ever misinterpreted by anyone as being sexually aggressive or if I ever offended or hurt anyone. But the fact is, for all my flaws, I am not a predator and the idea that someone might see me in that way is more distressing than I can express.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report