A Los Angeles-based writer, Jessica Teich, has come forward with allegations of sexual harassment and exposing himself against actor Richard Dreyfuss.

In an interview with Vulture, Teich claims that Dreyfuss constantly harassed her for a two- to three-year period in the mid-1980s, when she was a researcher and junior writer on a TV project of Dreyfuss’s, called Funny, You Don’t Look 200: A Constitutional Vaudeville.

The alleged incidents included an incident where she says that he exposed himself to her. Teich says that she met Dreyfuss in 1984 at the Mark Taper Forum theater in Los Angeles, where she was a dramaturg and he was starring in a play.

She was in her mid-20s and in an entry-level job, fresh out of grad school, while Dreyfuss was 12 years older, married with a child and already a successful actor.

“He wasn’t that much older than I was, but in every possible way his position in life couldn’t have been less comparable to mine,” Teich said.

“That’s how vast the power differential was. He was famous, he was rich, he had an Oscar.”

Dreyfuss then asked Teich to work on developing the TV special, Funny, You Don’t Look 200, with him, first on an informal basis over lunches, and then with the formal backing of the Disney Channel, where they had a tiny production office.

Teich says that over the next several years, they spent countless hours together developing the script.

One day, deep into the development process, with the TV special set to air in October 1987, Teich says Dreyfuss asked her to meet him in his trailer on the Los Angeles studio lot of a movie he was starring in at the time.

“I remember walking up the steps into the trailer and turning towards my left,” says Teich, “and he was at the back of the trailer, and just — his penis was out, and he sort of tried to draw me close to it.”

Teich says that Dreyfuss never asked for her to fellate him or jerk him off, but the situation was unambiguous.

“He was hard. I remember my face being brought close to his penis,” she continues.

“I can’t remember how my face got close to his penis, but I do remember that the idea was that I was going to give him a… Teich stated that the incident left her feeling “very uncomfortable and very disrespected.”

Teich says that she didn’t tell anyone about the incident at the time, and that she was afraid to speak up because Dreyfuss was in a position of power over her.

The allegations were made by Teich after reading the statement of support that Dreyfuss made on twitter in support of his son, Harry, who had recently made allegations of sexual assault against actor Kevin Spacey.

“When I read about his support for his son, which I would never question, I remember thinking, But wait a minute, this guy harassed me for months,” Teich said.

“He was in a position of so much power over me, and I didn’t feel I could tell anyone about it. It just seemed so hypocritical.”

Dreyfuss has since released a statement denying the allegations, saying “I emphatically deny ever “exposing” myself to Jessica Teich, whom I have considered a friend for 30 years.”

He went on to say that “I did flirt with her, and I remember trying to kiss Jessica as part of what I thought was a consensual seduction ritual that went on and on for many years.”

“I am horrified and bewildered to discover that it wasn’t consensual. I didn’t get it. It makes me reassess every relationship I have ever thought was playful and mutual.”

Teich, who is now a successful writer, has said that she is not looking for any sort of financial compensation or legal action against Dreyfuss.

Instead, she wants to use her story to raise awareness about the issue of sexual harassment and the power dynamics that can make it difficult for victims to speak out.

“I want people to know that this is a thing that happens to women all the time,” Teich said. “We don’t talk about it, but it’s real.”

“And it’s not okay. I want people to know that you can come forward and not be shamed.”

The allegations made by Teich are just the latest in a long string of sexual misconduct allegations that have been made against powerful men in the entertainment industry.

The accusations have led to a wider conversation about the culture of harassment and abuse in Hollywood, and the ways in which the industry has enabled and covered up such behavior for decades.