As we discussed earlier this week, James Woods decided to get on his high horse about the film Call Me By Your Name, a love story of a grad student (played by Armie Hammer) seducing a 17-year-old professor’s son (played by Timothee Chalamet). The film premiered at TIFF to rave reviews, and many believe the film will be a major awards contender. James Woods thought it was his place to remind people that the film “chips away at the last barriers of decency.” Armie Hammer was like “wait, weren’t you dating a teenager when you were 60?” And Amber Tamblyn was like “I remember when you hit on me when I was 16.” Amber is still angry about that sh-t, and she wrote an open letter to James Woods – you can read the full letter at Teen Vogue, but I’m including the full piece below:
Dear Mr. Woods,
What you are experiencing is called a teachable moment. It is called a gift. It is called a humbling. It is called Jesus, I come to thee. It is called an awakening. It is called a growth edge. It is called hope. The hope being that through this experience, you can change. You can redefine the man who will come after this moment and this man who came before. Since you’ve now called me a liar, I will now call you a silencer. I see your gaslight and now will raise you a scorched earth.
My friend Billy and I were at the Roxy on Sunset Boulevard seeing a band we loved. We decided to go to Mel’s diner on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood to get burgers after. I had just gotten my driver’s license and very specifically remember my nervousness trying to park in the diner parking lot. Upon leaving the restaurant we were stopped by you and your friend, who both seemed very nice. At one point you suggested we should all go to Las Vegas together. “It’s such a great place, have you ever been?” You tried to make it sound innocent. This is something predatory men like to do, I’ve noticed. Make it sound innocent. Just a dollop of insinuation. Just a hair of persuasion. Just a pinch of suggestion. “It will be so much fun, I promise you. Nothing has to happen, we will just have a good time together.” I told you my age, kindly and with no judgment or aggression. I told you my age because I thought you would be immediately horrified and take back your offer. You laughed and said, “Even better. We’ll have so much fun, I promise.”
Here’s the thing, Mr. Woods. At that time I was not a public persona. I had done a couple years on a soap opera as an actress, but you wouldn’t know me from Adam. I’m sure you’ve racked your brain trying to remember how you could’ve possibly hit on the actress Amber Tamblyn at a diner almost two decades ago. You think, it’s not possible, there’s no way I would’ve been so stupid as to hit on a 16-year-old known actress. But I wasn’t known then, James. I was just a girl. And I’m going to wager that there have been many girls who were just girls or women who were just women who you’ve done this to because you can get away with it.
The saddest part of this story doesn’t even concern me but concerns the universal woman’s story. The nation’s harmful narrative of disbelieving women first, above all else. Asking them to first corroborate or first give proof or first make sure we’re not misremembering or first consider the consequences of speaking out or first let men give their side or first just let your sanity come last. So it is with hope, Mr. Woods, that I ask you to go inward now and ask yourself the hard stuff. The ominous unconscious stuff. The archetypal masculinity stuff. The power-play stuff. The perversion persuasion stuff. The secretive stuff. The id’s most cherished stuff. Only you and your darkness know who you are. Only you and your actions know what you’ve done. That means you and only you have the power to change your behavior.
Are you and your history with women and girls a part of the problem, Mr. Woods? Go now and look in the mirror and ask yourself if this is true. Go on, I’ll wait. But I won’t hold my breath.
I love her, you guys. I want to take her to Vegas too, but as she is now – a woke feminist badass. Come to Vegas with me, Amber! We’ll play blackjack and I don’t know, maybe go see the Jennifer Lopez show? I love this: “It is called Jesus, I come to thee.” In the South we just say a “Come to Jesus” moment. But she’s right to not expect much to happen – James Woods will never come to Jesus. He’s too busy being an ancient pervert.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
So well said! Great job Ms. Tamblyn!
I follow her on instagram, and she kills it pretty regularly. She really impresses me.
Teen Vogue FTW again! Who is running that mag? They are doing a fantastic job.
Very powerful, I think this kind of thing really helps other young women to recognise and call out predatory behavior.
I am so in support of Teen Vogue that I got myself a subscription. Yes i’m 50.
Love this — why the hell not?!!
If they have a lot of articles like this, its probably a pretty darn interesting read.
Getting a subscription today for my 13 and 15 year old nieces!
Elaine Welteroth, who is awesome.
Amber got it done here!
Holy cow! That was awesome. And I love Teen Vogue for printing this. Sadly, I’m betting most of their readership has already met perv nation …
They’ve been doing great, and I really love that they were the outlet to publish her letter. This is something their core audience needs to read and remember.
I love when women use a teachable moment to empower other women. She isn’t just shaming a-hole Woods, she is letting every young girl know they can, and must, reject this grotesque behavior.
yeah who ever expected teen vogue to be at the forefront and so real? major kudos to them. she is amazing in this letter, truly. so proud of her for standing up and telling her truth in such a public way. that had to have been tough but its so important. good for her!
And he’s from Rhode Island, gah! On behalf of the state, I renounce him.
Oh no!!! I’m in RI as well and I detest James Woods more than I can say.
On behalf of all six New England states, I renounce him.
I thought the same thing.
Seriously! I said this the other day ashamed he’s a Rhode Islander.
Fun story: my mother worked at a small computer store in RI in the early 2000s. Apparently James Woods’ brother was friends with the owner, so he sent James into the store to buy a computer. When he showed up, he told my mom that he needed to see the owner, and she asked him for his name. He laughed at her and said, “Are you kidding? Don’t you know who I am?” To which she replied, “Other than a condescending ass? No, sir, I don’t.”
My mom wasn’t taking any of his shit almost 20 years ago, is all I’m saying. She’s a trailblazer. 🙂
Good for your mom! Love the “condescending ass” bit.
And also good for Amber. James Woods is such a low life pedo….glad she called him out. I do hope there are no repercussions for her career….
He’s all yours Lil” Rhodey lol
“Only you and your darkness know who you are.”
Beautifully written, well done.
This was the part that got me:
“I see your gaslight and now will raise you a scorched earth.”
That’s so great I might steal it and use it myself!
IKR! I was like, damn, girl. Preach.
She was really strong in her statement.
Loved that too. I love this kind of writing.
I love her. So awesome.
There was absolutely no reason at all for her to reply to Armie Hammer and fabricate this story. For what? I can’t believe the Woods supporters (there are quite a lot, to my horror) are scoffing and claiming this is all make believe on Amber’s part.
I bet those Woods supporters are also Mr. Trump supporters. Same guy, really, just a different exterior.
I totally agree, Shirleygail.
In my head I refuse to believe there are Woods supporters, only woman haters. *curls up in a ball*
I believe her and agree with you. For the ‘Woods supporters’ this seems more about their being butthurt about a homophobic conservative being called out + their “untrustworthy bitches are out to falsely accuse men of serious things to get attention and sympathy” narrative.
Slay Amber. Slayyyyy
Good for her. I believe her, and I’m sure James has attempted to pick up many an underaged female over the years. He’s a predatory asshole. He has full blown affairs with barely legal women but a gay relationship on film is just a bridge too far? GMAFB
Yes he has and does it all the time. Now that she has spoken the perv stories are flowing. I wonder if anyone else will come forward? They should.
I think I just fell in love. I have nothing to add, her letter was perfection!
really was—honest and in her words but used her personal experience to deal with social problems…and the point about famous and anonymity of a 16 year old girl? STRONG.
That she used her words so strongly to just slay him like this gives me all kinds of feelings. He treats women like objects, she reminds him that her mind is a force to be reckoned with. I hope he is reminded of this essay for years to come.
“I see your gaslight and now will raise you a scorched earth”. Wow! Very eloquent, very well said!
I want to hug that sentence!
I think that should be our mantra for the crazy moment we are living in. Everything from Trump and his deplorables is one giant gaslight – so let’s raise them scorched earth!
That is an epic letter. Bravo, Amber.
Amber is awesome – I’ve lover her since her Joan of Arcadia days. She’s a published poet so i’m not surprised at her wonderfully well-written letter. She is right, we gotta call these a-holes out on their hypocrisy !
Me too, I liked her on that show. I know she’s written a few books, and I think she’s directed a film already too. She’s pretty amazing, and I love that she’s not afraid to stand up and speak out.
“I see your gaslight and now will raise you a scorched earth.” YES!! This is what we need, young ladies willing to stand up for what they believe in with facts to back it up, refusing to kotow to hypocritical, sexist pigs like Woods!!
That was my favourite line too! I’m glad she’s standing her ground and not taking anything from these fools!
I want this on a t shirt.
Yes! Yes! Yes! To the t shirt. This was sublime.
She’s 100 shades of awesome.
I love it when a public figure I like turns out to be so articulate, so smart, so right! What a perfect response. Brava, Amber!!
James Woods is a psychotic and abusive tool. I had never heard of him before Trump became president, so I am only now learning that he has a long history of being a creep. In addition to preying on young women, he is also alleged to have physically and psychologically abused a former spouse of his.
That gave me a lady boner, well done Mrs. Never Nude!
I got goosebumps. She articulated that so f*cking perfectly.
Seriously, I bow to her.
Absolute perfection.
Love this.
I am so glad Holly Marie Combs backed both what Armie Hammer and Amber Tamblyn said in her own way with facts.
“Holly Marie Combs ✔ @H_Combs
You mean the one who was his friend’s daughter that he knew since she was a child? Yeah.”
This was in response to Armie asking Woods about dating a teenager when he was 60. If I was not disgusted with James Woods before…..( and I was!! )
OMG, I did not even know of this.
This would be a good letter to address to Woody Allen too.
I thought the same thing. This is beautifully written and Teen Vogue is the EXACT right place to publish it. Young people need to hear this. That you can speak out and that you are, in fact, not imagining these tiny little aggressive moments that you can’t put your finger on until you’re an adult.
I’m impatient. I want everyone and everything to hurry up and yes, denounce Woody Allen and Terry Richardson and all the other disgusting POS out there. But for now I’ll take this.
“I see your gas lighting and raise you scorched earth.” WHOOOI GIRL that lyric is FIRE! Amber Tamblyn Warrior Princess!
Yasss Amber-drag him.
I love Amber Tamblyn. She was not about to let Woods silence her.
Random-ish thoughts: I love how she broke it down to very specific details. Not that I didn’t 100% believe her, but to put such a fine point on it will surely shut up the doubters.
OT but she was on General Hospital right? I think I remember her from back in the day.
I wonder if that bag o’ d*cks will respond? I doubt he has the courage. Loser.
He’s too busy congratulating Rebel Wilson for winning her lawsuit.
Aww, hypocrite goes quiet. He’s off on political tweets and gushing over the FLOTUS.
Fun fact for classic movie watchers — Her father (Russ) was in quite a few famous movies (West Side Story, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers…).
I love her response! Call him out, Amber!
Yes, she was on GH. That’s where i know her from.
She clearly knew who he was at the time and therefore remembered the details. The reality though is teen girls endure this nonsense so much that one blends into another.
total respect for her and this beautifully written open letter! He’s an hypocrite.
Yes! She was Emily Quartermaine! Alot of people remember her as Joan of Arcadia but to me she’s Emily Quartermaine lolol
Pearls before swine.
“The saddest part of this story doesn’t even concern me but concerns the universal woman’s story. The nation’s harmful narrative of disbelieving women first, above all else. Asking them to first corroborate or first give proof or first make sure we’re not misremembering or first consider the consequences of speaking out or first let men give their side or first just let your sanity come last.”
Yaaas, Amber. Go for the guts.
That was my favorite part too. My daughter, who just turned 12, had her first “incident” with an older man saying some bullshit to her on the street (I was with her and he definitely wasn’t talking to me) and I had the terrible realization that this is it–the.rest.of.her.life.
Yes! Yes! Yes! Read that and raised one fist in the air in solidarity. Go Amber!
I’ve loved her since Joan of Arcadia. She has been consistently awesome off screen as well.
Yes, yes, yes to everything! Amber will forever be adored by me for such a powerful, articulate letter!
“The saddest part of this story doesn’t even concern me but concerns the universal woman’s story. The nation’s harmful narrative of disbelieving women first, above all else. Asking them to first corroborate or first give proof or first make sure we’re not misremembering or first consider the consequences of speaking out or first let men give their side or first just let your sanity come last. ”
I had a friends dad hit on me when I was 14. I was terrified by his leering and suggestive comments but too afraid to speak up. I just avoided him as much as possible and would never be alone with him if I couldn’t.
That was 30 years ago but I remember every detail of that day perfectly much like Amber remembering her attempt to park. A benign act that is seared into memory by the rest of the days events. I had a fishing pole fall over and catch on my shirt, my Night Ranger concert tee that I loved. An innocuous happening that I remember because it was immediately after that he cornered me.
He ended up going to prison for three years after another friend came forward that he’d molested her a year earlier. I remember some people in our town blaming our friend for “letting it happen” or for being a willing participant in his abuse. I was thankful at the time that I didn’t say anything lest my name be the one they whispered.
Thank you Amber for your courage to write such a thoughtful piece and for giving Mr. Woods a swift kick in the D.
Ugh how awful. Nothing so concrete happened to me, but I was always on high alert around adult men as a teenager. I can’t even count the number of creepy, gross dudes who leered at and hit on me.
One of my dad’s friends was in the “do not be alone with this person at all costs” camp. He was just… ugh. Where he’d look, what he’d say, how he’d smile, it was all awful and creepy, yet if I were ever to say something, wtf would I even say? He looked at me funny? He took a few seconds too long to reply to something I said? He smiled all weird when I said hello? How do you even voice that so someone believes you, let alone prove it? Well, you don’t. Which is ludicrous because every. single. woman. has had this experience. You know what I’m talking about, as does every other female on this site. It’s happened to you. It was gross and awful. Yet how many of us were silent and just dealt with it? I was. My parents never knew why I didn’t want to talk to that guy or hang out with my dad when he was there, yet I’d happily spend hours with them when my dad’s other friends were around.
One of my uncles was in the “don’t be alone with” category after he tried grab me in a back hall at my grandparents home. And that uncle was a preacher who lectured on morality at every chance. He’s been dead for years. He had a penis implant done. It was an electrical device and there were electrodes embedded so he could power up, so to speak. But it “went bad” and developed a terrible infection. So he literally died of gangrene of the penis. It should happen to all predatory a-holes.
And THIS is why I believe in karma.
Bravo Amber
She. Is. Amazing.
Another woman has already come out of the woodwork to say that he did the same thing to her when she was a teenager.
Go Amber!!!!!
I remember at around 16 a male neighbor being really gross & suggestive to me and my sister. This was after my dad passed away. This neighbor was around my dad’s age, 50 or so. We started avoiding him. It never occurred to me to tell anyone or to tell my mother he was making me uncomfortable. Young girls deal with so much crap.
They really do-ugh. When I was about 12 I would take the public bus to school. I was the most naive, sheltered girl you could imagine. One time, this older man (probably in his 50s) sat next to me on the bus and started talking to me. He asked me if I’d gone to any school dances and if I’d ever felt a boy close up get a hard on. I barely even knew was that was. I never told anyone-and it’s been almost 40 years. I could almost dry heave just thinking about what a horrible thing that was to say to a child. I hope that guy died a slow, painful death-is that wrong to say?
You encountered walking evil, so don’t feel guilty. Ever.
What a horrible, horrible man to say that to a child!!
As I’ve said before & will say again, James Woods’ actions speak so loud, none of us will hear a word he says.
I love that she didn’t come after him with an expletive filled rant (not that he wouldn’t deserve it), but her eloquence & articulation proves her integrity & character. She is proven wise beyond her years. There is literally nothing else James Woods can say or do to respond to this. She has silenced him. Bravo Amber!
I have loved her since she was an “unknown” soap actress. EMILY QUARTERMAINE forever!!! LOVVVVVE her!!
Her going after Carly was the best thing going on GH at the time. Loved it.
OMG YASSSSSS!!! glory days of GH!!
James Woods is an A**hat. He sued an anon Twitter user even after the guy died to try and doxx him if I recall. All because the dude pulled receipts on him saying sh*t on the poor. He deleted his Twitter on more then one occasion.
I’ve said this before, but men like Mr. Woods are the reason I never tried to squelch my daughter’s natural inner bitch. I never tried to make her “be nice” in all situations or be obedient to someone if they were older. Don’t get me wrong, she was a nice girl, but she always had the option not to be. Her inner bitch has come in handy in many situations.
As they say “f*ck politeness”.
Women’s conditioning to be polite, even when their gut is telling them something is not right, has endangered our lives for too long. I’m glad to hear your daughter won’t be confined by the pressure to ignore her own instincts.
How Awesome is she!! New fan here. 👏
I am wondering if Billy is a girl…because if Billy was a guy and if they were down for that……….
plot twist!
She. Is. Awesome!
Wow. Whoooollee new level of woman crush now in effect. She managed, with poise and dignity, to go the full “Get behind me Satan!” renouncement of the idiot worthy of what can usually be only reached by an older Southern woman. I haven’t read a “And so you know, you seriously suck and are a horrible person” written out so publicly and with such grace before! A new name to add to my list of artists to try and encourage my young niece to like (if she HAS to be into celebs, at least let them be like this!).
Wow, that is a great letter!
Proud to be a long-time Amber Tamblyn fan! 🙂
Teen Vogue published an endometriosis article from an endo sister! I need a script!
Love her.
I heard a story about James Woods years ago that I desperately want to share. Can I?
Please do. Everyone should know what a sh-t bag he is.
Well it’s not that exciting, but a FOAF with no reason to lie, years ago, told us that he’d had sex with JW, that he was closeted or bi. He says a lot of homophobic stuff on twitter, so at the least a hypocrite.
Personally I believe that story AND Amber’s story.
“I see your gaslight and now will raise you a scorched earth.”
Powerful sentence, I said it (and I hate ’empowering’ stuff)
This is an absolutely fabulous essay. She rocks, majorly.