Former President George H.W. Bush has apologized to actress Heather Lind after she took to social media to accuse him of groping her and telling her a dirty joke during a screening of her TV show in 2014, according to USA Today.
“President Bush would never — under any circumstance — intentionally cause anyone distress, and he most sincerely apologizes if his attempt at humor offended Ms. Lind,” spokesman Jim McGrath said in a written statement to USA Today.
Lind stars in the AMC series Turn: Washington’s Spies, and detailed her allegations in a since-deleted Instagram post that referenced Saturday’s gathering of five former living presidents.
“I found it disturbing because I recognize the respect ex-presidents are given for having served. And I feel pride and reverence toward many of the men in the photo. But 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 while I was posing for a similar photo,” Lind wrote.
“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. And then, all the while being photographed, touched me again. 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.”
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