Alec Baldwin addresses his relationship with disgraced director James Toback

Alec Baldwin has settled a lawsuit in which he had accused a prominent New York City art dealer of fraud. (Reuters)

Alec Baldwin has finally addressed his relationship with now disgraced Hollywood director James Toback following sharp criticism online for his close connection.

Baldwin, who can be seen most weeks on “Saturday Night Live” playing a characterized version of president Donald Trump, has a history with Toback. The director recently came under fire when 38 women came forward to accuse him of harassment, prompting close to 300 total allegations in the days following. Speaking to the L.A. Times, Baldwin finally addressed his connection to Toback saying it was always just business between them.

Director James Toback poses during a photocall for the movie ''The Private Life Of A Modern Woman" at the 74th Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy September 3, 2017. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi - RC1BE3DC5D40 (REUTERS)

“In all the time I’ve known Jimmy, I never had one conversation about his sex life, which is not unusual for me because I’m not sitting down with some guy and he’s saying to me, 'Man, you should have seen what I did last night with this girl in this hotel.' I don’t go there,” he said, later noting: “He had an appetite for going up to women and saying salacious and provocative things to them and introducing himself with his credentials and so forth, and laying that on people to seduce them. I never knew any details of what he did that was assault in nature or rape in nature or criminally actionable. Never, never, never."

Previously, Baldwin starred in the documentary “Seduced and Abandoned” with Toback and appeared in his latest film, “The Private Life of a Modern Woman.” Additionally, he’s taken some criticism from fellow celebrities who have shared a photo of him, Toback and Roman Polanski in 2012. Given the history of the two other men, people like Asia Argento have posted the image in an effort to shame the star for his associations.

The interview with the L.A. Times comes after Baldwin railed against the writer of a Decider article that called for him to address his relationship with the director publicly. Baldwin called the writer “dishonest” and “awful,” but did not address her request to comment on Toback.