Tatum O’Neal claims former co-star Richard Burton propositioned her when she was a teenager and he was 54

Tatum O’Neal has revealed how her former Circle of Two co-star, Hollywood legend Richard Burton, propositioned her on the set of their film by offering her a kiss. 

The pair starred in the 1981 romance film in which she played a 15-year-old falling for Burton’s 60-year-old painter character.

Speaking with Variety, Tatum, 61, revealed the late star propositioned her on the set of the movie, asking her, ‘Would you like to have a kiss?’

At the time, Tatum was 16 and Burton was 54.  

She recalls Burton, who drank heavily, offering her alcohol when he asked about the kiss.

‘”Yikes” is the right word,’ she said of his alleged offer. ‘I loved Richard Burton, but I was like, nah, I ain’t going to do that.’

Tatum O’Neal claims former co-star Richard Burton propositioned her when she was 16 and he 54

She recalls him asking her if she wanted a kiss on the set of their 1980 film, Circle of Two

‘He was brilliant — and the movie we did was terrible,’ she said.

The problematic film saw O’Neal even having to go topless in a scene.

‘I was horrified,’ she said.

Circle Of Two – which was renamed Obsession – was released in 1980 and follows ‘the impossible love between a schoolgirl and a sixty-year-old painter,’ according to IMDb.

Burton, who famously was married to Elizabeth Taylor twice in his life, died four years after the film’s release of a cerebral hemorrhage at age 58.

Tatum, who remains the youngest Oscar winner, previously described Burton as the ‘most magical motherf**king actor’ in a 2019 chat with Interview Magazine.

‘I could fill your whole magazine with Richard Burton stories. He was the most magical motherfucking actor who wore a different pair of new red socks every single day,’ she said.

She recalled him only being allowed to drink red wine on the set due to his liver. 

‘He could recite any poem by heart and called me the Beatrice to his Dante. He was only allowed to drink red wine on the movie because his liver was talking to him. He died about a couple of years later, and they didn’t f**king invite me to his funeral.’

Tatum won an Oscar at age 10 and remains the youngest person to have ever earned the award 

Circle Of Two – which was renamed Obsession – was released in 1980 and follows ‘the impossible love between a schoolgirl and a sixty-year-old painter,’ according to IMDb

In 2011, she told The Guardian that Richard was the most ‘charismatic’ actor she had ever met: ‘I did a film with him and he was the sweetest, funniest and most charismatic man.’ 

Tatum was just a child when she rose to fame, earning an Oscar at age 10 for her work in the film which also starred her father Ryan O’Neal, Paper Moon.

But Tatum had a tempestuous relationship with her father for decades.

The pair reconciled before his death aged 82 in December 2023 with the star claiming that her father offered her drugs during her final visit – despite Tatum being a recovering addict.

She told Variety: ‘I know he was drinking, smoking a lot of pot, and he was like, “Here, take a pill. I was like, “No, thank you.’”

Her son Kevin McEnroe, whose father is tennis icon John McEnroe, said his mom did drink alcohol that day, adding: ‘Every single time she’s seen her dad my entire life, something happens.’

Tatum was cut out of her father’s will, and told Variety she believed her first memoir, A Paper Life, in which she detailed her father’s violent temper and sexual abuse from a member of his inner circle, got her banished.

She said: ‘The first book that I wrote was just a f***ing honest book. And that’s what got him.’

Tatum had a tempestuous relationship with her father Ryan O’Neal for decades; pictured circa 1973

Kevin said Ryan’s money is ‘blood money’ and that his mother is now ‘letting go of how much space he took up in her life.’

Prior to his passing, Ryan and Tatum had a strained relationship marked with long periods of estrangement.

They went through a 25-year rift following Paper Moon. The father-daughter duo had starred together in the 1973 comedy drama film as protagonists Moze and Addie.

Her performance of the role won her an Academy Award for best supporting actress.

She was only eight when she was cast in the role and she turned nine during the shoot.

Tatum went on to earn the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the film when she was just 10 years old, making her the youngest person to ever win a competitive Oscar.

O’Neal has previously said her father ‘hated’ her because of the Academy Award she won.

‘He loved me, but then hated me, because I won the Academy Award,’ she explained. She did receive a congratulatory note from her father after her achievement, however her mother never recognized the win.

‘Weird s**t happened. It kind of went in the wrong direction to happiness,’ she explained.

In 2011, she and her father attempted to repair their relationship on a documentary series titled Ryan & Tatum: The O’Neals.

Although their relationship remained tumultuous at the time of the article’s publishing, Tatum said she had met up with her father months before his death.

She seemed to be referring to a visit to Ryan to celebrate his 82nd birthday on April 20 2023.

She seemed to be referring to a visit to Ryan to celebrate his 82nd birthday on April 20 2023.

The day after, she had shared a photo to Instagram of the pair beaming together at his home in Los Angeles.

In her caption, she wrote: ‘Happy birthday dad I love you’.

Despite their difficulties, she has always insisted she will always love and care about him.

‘I love my dad,’ she said. ‘I mean, I’ve had a hard life with my dad — but I still love him.’

In May 2020, O’Neal overdosed on prescription drugs, which triggered a massive stroke that impacted her right frontal cortex. O’Neal took painkillers, opiates, and morphine, and was rushed to the hospital after a friend found her in her apartment.

In 1998, Tatum lost custody of her three children – Kevin, Emily and Sean – to her ex-husband McEnroe because of her heroin addiction.

Tatum was just a child when she rose to fame, earning an Oscar at age 10 for her work in the film which also starred her father Ryan O’Neal, Paper Moon

She is currently learning how to read again and recently underwent neck surgery.

Tatum also starred in The Bad News Bears (1976), followed by Nickelodeon (1976), and Little Darlings (1980).

Later she was seen on TV in Sex and the City, 8 Simple Rules and Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

In 2006, she starred in the My Network TV drama series Wicked Wicked Games.

Ryan was a major movie star and was for years with Farrah Fawcett with whom he shared a son Redmond.