A third woman has come forward with allegations against actor Jeffrey Tambor. In an interview with Refinery29 published on Wednesday, a makeup artist alleges Tambor sexually harassed her back in 2001. The makeup artist, Tamara Delbridge, claimed that the Transparent star "grabbed [her] out of nowhere and kissed [her] on the lips." Tambor denied these claims to Refinery29. (Bustle reached out to Tambor's rep for comment, but did not receive an immediate response.)
UPDATE: Tambor's rep released a statement to Bustle, which is the same that Refinery29 published:
"I have absolutely no recollection of anything like this incident ever happening. If it did, it wasn’t meant as anything more than an enthusiastic farewell and gratitude for a job well done at the end of a shoot. However, I am deeply sorry for any discomfort or offense I may have inadvertently caused her."
EARLIER: This news comes after Tambor announced he was leaving Transparent. While the Emmy Award-winning actor claimed "the idea that I would deliberately harass anyone is simply and utterly untrue," he decided to not return to the Amazon series. He said in a statement to Deadline, "Playing Maura Pfefferman on Transparent has been one of the greatest privileges and creative experiences of my life. What has become clear over the past weeks, however, is that this is no longer the job I signed up for four years ago."
Earlier this month, Tambor was first accused of sexual harassment by his former assistant, transgender actor Van Barnes. According to Deadline, Barnes claimed in a private Facebook post that her boss, who was reportedly unnamed in the post, behaved inappropriately. Allegations include "repeatedly propositioned her, made lewd comments, groped her and threatened to sue her if she spoke up," per Deadline. Tambor "adamantly and vehemently" denied the allegations to Deadline. Amazon reportedly opened an investigation into these claims.
Then, Trace Lysette, who appeared on Transparent, accused Tambor of acting appropriately with her while filming the series. In a tweet with the #MeToo hashtag, Lysette claimed, "Jeffrey has made many sexual advances and comments at me, but one time it got physical." She alleges that Tambor approached her while she was standing in a corner, and he allegedly leaned against her and thrusted back and forth. "I felt his penis on my hip through his thin pajamas and I pushed him of of me," she claimed. (Tambor denied these allegations in a statement to Us Weekly, saying, "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.")
Now, Delbridge's claims make three, and she told Refinery29 that it's because of the other women coming forward that she decided to, too. "His response made me really angry. I was like 'it's not baseless," she said. "This isn't a man-bashing thing. It's about a person who did something inappropriate and he’s not acknowledging that he did it."
As for her specific allegations, Delbridge recalls the alleged incident happening while filming 2001's Never Again, which she says was the first big movie she worked on and she behaved professionally on set. However, here's what she claims happened on the last day of filming:
"I said [to Tambor], 'It was very nice to work with you' and he grabbed me out of nowhere and kissed me on the lips. And I was just shocked. I didn’t even know how to react, because how do you react when you’re not expecting anything like that? So I didn’t know if I was embarrassed or shocked or mortified or stunned. It was a whole bunch of emotions."
She then claims another actor on the film, Bill Duke, acknowledged that the interaction was "inappropriate." "In my mind he just confirmed that I didn’t do anything to provoke it," Delbridge told Refinery. She also says she appreciates Duke because, "He made it a point to let me know that what happened wasn't acceptable." (Bustle reached out to Duke's manager for comment, but did not receive an immediate response.)
While Tambor has stepped down from the role, it remains unclear what will happen to Transparent going forward.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, call the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-HOPE (4673) or visit online.rainn.org.
