Aside from his closely guarded tax returns, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump‘s past has revealed yet another alleged (yet unsurprising) scandal. This time the story concerns the New York real estate mogul’s reality television series The Apprentice, which he assumed he could still do if elected president. Not only is this not possible, but considering all the concurring cases of sexism as reported by a new Associated Press investigation, it’s probably for the best that Trump and The Apprentice crew never work together again.
Especially the female crew members, staff members and contestants who frequented The Apprentice‘s operations in front of and behind the camera. Per one of the AP report’s most distressing examples, for example, Trump apparently took a liking to a female camera operator’s body part that reminded him of his daughter Ivanka:
Eight former crew members recalled that he repeatedly made lewd comments about a camerawoman he said had a nice rear, comparing her beauty to that of his daughter, Ivanka.
Other incidents claimed by anonymous and named sources alike include, but aren’t limited to:
- Preferring “female contestants to wear shorter dresses that also showed more cleavage.”
- Asking “one female contestant twirl before him so he could ogle her figure.”
- “He was like ‘Isn’t she hot, check her out,’ kind of gawking, something to the effect of ‘I’d like to hit that.'”
- “We were in the boardroom one time figuring out who to blame for the task, and he just stopped in the middle and pointed to someone and said, ‘You’d f… her, wouldn’t you? I’d f… her. C’mon, wouldn’t you?'”
At the same time, many former Apprentice stars and staff members praised Trump’s professionalism on and off the set while denying any and all reported cases of sexism. Even Poppy Carlig, the contestant whom Trump requested the twirl from, didn’t seem to mind the attention. “I don’t immediately jump to the conclusion that people are having bad intentions with what they are saying,” she explained to the AP, adding: “He said I reminded him of his daughter and I thought that was really touching because I know how much he values his family.”
Plausible (but still creepy) explanation via nostalgia notwithstanding, the AP investigation reveals more evidence regarding the Republican nominee’s troubling and enduring history with women.
(Via Associated Press)