Jeffrey Tambor plays a transgender woman in “Transparent.”
Summary: Jeffrey Tambor has been accused of sexually harassing an actress on the set of Jill Soloway’s “Transparent.”
A second transgender person has accused actor Jeffrey Tambor of sexual harassment. Tambor is the star of Amazon’s hit show “Transparent,” which is a family dramedy about a transgender parent and her family, and he has been accused of harassing a former assistant and now a guest star.
“Transparent” actress Trace Lysette is openly transgender, and she plays Shea in the Amazon series. According to TMZ, Lysette is claiming that Tambor said lewd and sexual remarks to her multiple times and he once physically touched her in an aggressive manner.
Lysette said that she was on set and wearing pajamas for a scene when Tambor walked up to her and stood on her feet so that she couldn’t move. He then rubbed his genitals against her body, according to Deadline.
“I laughed it off and rolled my eyes,” Lysette said in the statement. “I had a job to do and I had to do it with Jeffrey, the lead of our show. When they called action, I put that moment in the corner into its own corner of my mind. Compartmentalizing has always been part of my survival tool kit, long before I came to Hollywood. It’s sh–ty to admit out loud — and I don’t say it to justify what I went through — but given the journey and circumstances of my life, I was used to being treated as a sexual object by men — this one just happened to be famous.”
Tambor is already being investigated by Amazon for allegedly harassing his transgender ex-assistant, Van Barnes. Tambor has denied any predatory behavior, but he has admitted that he is “ill-tempered” and difficult to work with.
“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,” Tambor said in a statement.
Lysette has not filed an official complaint with Amazon, but the studio said they are adding the new allegation to their current investigation, according to TMZ.
The allegations against Tambor come at a time where Hollywood and Amazon Studios, specifically, are under fire for mistreating women. In October, Amazon Studios’ president Roy Price was forced to resign after it was revealed that he had made inappropriate comments to “Man in the High Castle” executive producer, Isa Hackett. His resignation prompted insiders to look into Amazon Studios’ history of working with creators with sordid histories such as Harvey Weinstein and Woody Allen but not having a good relationship with women.
The allegations against Tambor are shocking, but they are especially so because “Transparent” is one of the few female-friendly projects on Amazon Studio’s slate. Additionally, the show has been lauded for its progressiveness and handling of transgender issues.
According to TMZ, the show’s writers were trying to figure out how to do a season without Tambor, and this information came even before Lysette’s allegation.
Entertainment Weekly spoke with “Transparent” showrunner Jill Soloway who said that sexual harassment was against the values of those who ran the show.
“Anything that would diminish the level of respect, safety, and inclusion so fundamental to our workplace is completely antithetical to our principles. We are cooperating with the investigation into this matter,” Soloway said.
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