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George H.W. Bush Apologizes to Actress After She Accuses Him of Sexual Misconduct (UPDATED)
Heather Lind made the allegation in a now-deleted Instagram post.
Update (Oct. 26, 2017, 11:08 AM): A second actress alleges that George H.W. Bush groped her while posing for a photo last year. Jordana Grolnick told Deadspin that Bush "reached his right hand around to my behind" as she and the cast of a Maine production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame posed for a photo in August 2016. "And as we smiled for the photo he asked the group, ‘Do you want to know who my favorite magician is?’ As I felt his hand dig into my flesh, he said, ‘David Cop-a-Feel!’”
Bush's spokesman Jim McGrath issued another statement to Deadspin in response to Grolnick's allegations. “At age 93, President Bush has been confined to a wheelchair for roughly five years, so his arm falls on the lower waist of people with whom he takes pictures," the statement said. "To try to put people at ease, the president routinely tells the same joke — and on occasion, he has patted women’s rears in what he intended to be a good-natured manner. Some have seen it as innocent; others clearly view it as inappropriate. To anyone he has offended, President Bush apologizes most sincerely.”
Original story continues below.
George H.W. Bush has issued an apology to an actress who alleged that he sexually assaulted her while they posed for a photograph together four years ago.
Actress Heather Lind accused the former president of sexual misconduct in a now-deleted Instagram post featuring a recent photo of Bush shaking hands with Barack Obama while surrounded by Jimmy Carter, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton, an image that she said she found "disturbing" because of George H.W. Bush's alleged past inappropriate behavior toward her, according to PEOPLE. “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." Lind alleged the incident occurred when she posed next to Bush in a photo while promoting the series TURN: Washington's Spies, which you can see over at PEOPLE. "And then, all the while being photographed, touched me again.”
Actress Heather Lind accused George H.W. Bush of sexual misconduct in a now-deleted Instagram post.
Bush's spokesman Jim McGrath said in a statement to PEOPLE, "President Bush would never — under any circumstance — intentionally cause anyone distress, and he most sincerely apologizes if his attempt at humor offended Ms. Lind.”
Lind also shared in her Instagram post that she told her AMC castmates about the alleged assault, and she decided to come forward with the incident now because of “the bravery of other women who have spoken up and written about their experiences.”
Lind's accusation comes as many are speaking out about sexual assault in Hollywood in the wake of allegations against mega-producer Harvey Weinstein for sexual assault and harassment spanning decades. Other high-profile individuals in the entertainment industry have also recently come under fire for their alleged sexual misconduct, including Ben Affleck and Terry Richardson.
