Alleged misconduct on Transparent set

A second woman has come forward to accuse  Transparent star Jeffrey Tambor of sexual harassment.

Trace Lysette, who plays the yoga instructor Shea on the series, claimed that when the star cornered her on the set of the Amazon show.

‘He came in close, put his bare feet on top of mine so I could not move, leaned his body against me, and began quick, discreet thrust back and forth against my body. I felt his penis on my hip through his thin pyjamas,’ she said.

Lysette, who is transgender, pushed Tambor away and  ‘rolled my eyes’.

At the time Tambor, who previously starred in The Larry Sanders Show and Arrested Development, was dressed as his transgender character Maura, in a green satin kimono, while Shea was in her on-screen garb of lingerie top and micro-shorts.

When he first saw her, Tambor reportedly said in front of other cast members: ‘My God, Trace. I want to attack you sexually.’

The actress  is the second member of the Transparent team to come forward with allegations against the 73-year-old.

The first accuser has been named in the press as Van Barnes, is a trans woman who worked as Tambor's personal assistant.

In a statement, Tambor told The Hollywood Reporter that he was proud of the positive impact Transparent had had on the  transgender woman community, but added: ‘I find myself accused of behaviour that any civilised person would condemn unreservedly. 

‘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 news is the latest sexual misconduct scandal to erupt.

Last night, a female radio presenter said that  Al Franken groped and ‘forcibly kissed’ her without her consent, with a picture released showing him touching her breasts as she slept. 

In an open post to Franken, Leeann Tweeden said: ‘You knew exactly what you were doing. You forcibly kissed me without my consent, grabbed my breasts while I was sleeping and had someone take a photo of you doing it, knowing I would see it later, and be ashamed.’

She also released that photo, taken during an overseas tour of the troops in 2006, when Franken was a comedian – two years before he was elected to the US senate as a Democratic.

Franken has apologised, while Donald Trump tweeted: ‘The Al Frankenstien picture is really bad, speaks a thousand words. Where do his hands go in pictures 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 while she sleeps’ – suggesting that the Sentator’s subsequent actions were much worse.

Published: 17 Nov 2017