Dustin Hoffman & Meryl Streep’s Feud Explained — What Really Happened On The Kramer Vs. Kramer Set?

Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep starred in the Academy Award-winning Kramer vs. Kramer, but some on-set antagonism between the pair left a bad taste in Streep’s mouth. Kramer vs. Kramer is what happens when an actor in his prime, an impossibly talented up-and-comer, a capable director, and a fascinating and moving story come together. Before there was Marriage Story, there was Kramer vs. Kramer, a 1979 legal drama that follows a couple’s divorce and the subsequent evolution of their relationship through the trauma and how it affects their young son.

Dustin Hoffman is at his best as Ted Kramer, a workaholic advertising executive in NYC whose wife of eight years, Joanna (Meryl Streep), suddenly announces she wants a divorce. Shocked and angry, Ted begins an arduous custody battle with Joanna over their young son, Billy (Justin Henry), eventually coming to understand why his wife made this decision. The film went five for eight at the 52nd Academy Awards with Streep and Hoffman winning Best Supporting Actress and Best Actor respectively. Despite the film’s success, the stars didn’t have a good relationship on set.

Dustin Hoffman Allegedly Slapped Meryl Streep On The Kramer Vs. Kramer Set

Streep Said That Hoffman Slapped Her To Get Her In The Right Mindset To Act

Kramer vs. Kramer is a harrowing movie and the anger and stress Ted and Joanna express throughout it is uncomfortably real. According to Meryl Streep, Hoffman’s character bled over into his acting prep because, before the opening scene of Ted and Joanna fighting in the hallway, Streep says that Hoffman actually slapped her in the face (via NYT). Kramer vs. Kramer ended up being one of the defining movies of Meryl Streep’s career, but at the time, she was extremely new to acting, with only a handful of previous credits to her name.

As Streep says herself,

“This is tricky because when you’re an actor, you’re in a scene, you have to feel free. I’m sure that I have inadvertently hurt people in physical scenes. But there’s a certain amount of forgiveness in that. But this was my first movie, and it was my first take in my first movie, and he just slapped me. And you see it in the movie. It was overstepping.”

In retrospect, and after spending decades in the industry, it seems that Streep has come to see a small part of what Hoffman may have been thinking when he allegedly slapped her, but at the same time, she’s quick to make it clear that he had overstepped. Physical scene or not, it was inappropriate.

Hoffman allegedly rattled Gail Strickland, set to play Margaret, so much, that the director had to replace her with Jane Alexander.

Hoffman has never directly addressed the slap, so it’s unclear why exactly he may have done it. However, in the unauthorized biography of Meryl Streep, Her Again: Becoming Meryl Streep, journalist Michael Schulman wrote that Hoffman slapped Streep to purposefully make her angry (via Vogue). A dedicated method actor, Hoffman took his methods too far if he brought someone else into it.

Hoffman’s Other Alleged Abuses On Set

Hoffman Taunted And Startled Streep While Filming

That wasn’t the only time Dustin Hoffman allegedly abused Meryl Streep on the set of Kramer vs. Kramer. In the Schulman biography, Schulman reported other instances of taunting and abuse. One took place during the courtroom scene where Joanna is asked,

“Were you a failure at the one most important relationship in your life? Were you?”

According to Schulman, Hoffman came up to Streep right before the scene and whispered in her ear, “John Cazale” (via VanityFair). The legendary actor John Cazale was Meryl Streep’s partner for years, up until he tragically passed away the year before. It would be a cruel form of “inspiration” for the scene and Streep’s performance if true. Schulman also talks about the scene where Joanna and Ted are arguing over Billy’s custody. Before the scene, Hoffman allegedly asked the camera operator and only the camera operator,

“See that glass there on the table? If I whack that before I leave have you got it in the shot?”

That look of surprise, fear, and anger on Joanna’s face when Ted smashed his wine glass against the wall is real. She told Hoffman afterward,

“Next time you do that, I’d appreciate you letting me know”

If the reports are to be believed, it seems that Hoffman was looking for any opportunity to make Streep uncomfortable.

Streep’s Rep Said Hoffman Eventually Apologized To Her

News Outlets Dug Up A 1979 Accusation That Streep Denied The Veracity Of

While Dustin Hoffman has never officially responded to Meryl Streep’s claims, Streep’s representative did offer that she and Hoffman had come to some sort of understanding. In 2017, Slate unearthed a 1979 Time magazine interview with Streep where she accused Hoffman of touching her breast in their first meeting (via EOnline). After outlets reran the interview, Streep’s rep came out and said that the article was not an,

“…accurate rendering of that meeting.”

Adding,

“There was an offense and it is something for which Dustin apologized. And Meryl accepted that.”

In 2012, Hoffman teared up on stage at the BAFTA Life in Pictures event centered on his film career (via THR). When discussing his time working on Kramer vs. Kramer, Hoffman tearfully said,

“I was getting divorced, I’d been partying with drugs and it depleted me in every way.”

It’s not an apology, but with nothing being officially confirmed, it’s possible that Hoffman doesn’t think his actions warrant specific comment. The fact he’s willing to acknowledge some impropriety on the set, though, suggests he realizes his actions were over the line.

Other Women Have Accused Hoffman Of Sexual And Verbal Harassment

Hoffman Was Accused Of Sexual Misconduct By Seven Women In 2017

Dustin Hoffman’s alleged abuses against Meryl Streep are not the only accusations levied at the actor in his career. In 2017, Anna Graham Hunter accused Hoffman of groping her and verbally harassing her while she was a 17-year-old intern on the set of the TV movie Death of a Salesman (via THR). He allegedly asked Hunter to give him a foot massage among other inappropriate requests and comments. Hoffman responded to the article, saying (via TheGuardian),

“I have the utmost respect for women and feel terrible that anything I might have done could have put her in an uncomfortable situation. I am sorry. It is not reflective of who I am.”

Hoffman was again accused of harassment and physical violation in 2017, this time by Kathryn Rossetter, who performed alongside Hoffman in the 1983 Broadway run of Death of a Salesman (via THR). By the end of 2017, Hoffman had been accused of sexual misconduct by seven different women (via USAToday). The accusations include everything from exposing himself to a teenager in 1980 to sexually assaulting a woman during the production of 1987’s Ishtar. Variety received a letter from Hoffman’s attorney calling the accusations against Hoffman,

“Defamatory falsehoods.”

Hoffman has never publicly addressed the accusations, save for his, “It’s not reflective of who I am” comment.

Streep Appears To Have Moved Past The Feud

Streep Said That All Was Forgiven

Whatever happened between Meryl Streep and Dustin Hoffman on the set of Kramer vs. Kramer, it appears that the actress has moved past it. In her New York Times interview that she did with Tom Hanks for their 2017 thriller, The Post, Streep talked about her relationship with Hoffman and his actions on set,

“But I think those things are being corrected in this moment. And they’re not politically corrected; they’re fixed. They will be fixed, because people won’t accept it anymore. So that’s a good thing.”

“Those things” she’s referring to are unacceptable actions like slapping an actress to get a rise out of her. In April 2020, Streep appeared on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross and when asked about the slap moment, Streep again said it was wrong, and she could have played the part without Hoffman’s interference, but she also said,

“All is forgiven and I really, really love him and I think he’s an amazing actor, yeah, but boy I was mad that day.”

It’s a measured and conciliatory response from a respected and talented actress.