Former president George H.W. Bush apologized after actress Heather Lind accused him of sexual assault during a photo opportunity where his wife, Barbara, was by his side. The Turn: Washington’s Spies star wrote about the encounter in a since-deleted Instagram post on Tuesday, saying that “when I got the chance to meet George H. W. Bush four years ago to promote a historical television show I was working on, he sexually assaulted me.”
Lind, who also appeared on Boardwalk Empire, continued, “He didn’t shake my hand. He touched me from behind from his wheelchair with his wife Barbara Bush by his side. He told me a dirty joke.” When Bush touched her for a second time, Barbara “rolled her eyes as if to say, ‘not again.’ His security guard told me I shouldn’t have stood next to him for the photo,” she wrote.
“It seems to me a President’s power is in his or her capacity to enact positive change, actually help people, and serve as a symbol of our democracy. He relinquished that power when he used it against me and, judging from the comments of those around him, countless other women before me. What comforts me is that I too can use my power, which isn’t so different from a President really.” (Via)
A spokesperson for Bush told the New York Daily News, “President Bush would never — under any circumstance — intentionally cause anyone distress, and he most sincerely apologizes if his attempt at humor offended Ms. Lind.”
(Via Deadline and New York Daily News)