Former President George H.W. Bush has been accused of sexually assaulting and harassing actress Heather Lind four years ago.
In a long, detailed, and now-deleted Instagram post, Lind remarked upon feeling upset and disturbed by seeing the first President Bush in a light-hearted picture with former President Barack Obama. She wrote:
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, 34, went on to detail the accusations. Again, her Instagram post:
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.
The incident in question allegedly occurred during a photo op for Lind’s show, “Turn: Washington’s Spies,” an AMC program which ran from 2014-2017.
According to photo caption from that event on AMC’s website, “Former President George H.W. Bush and his wife, former first lady Barbara Bush, hosted the cast and executive producers of TURN: Washington’s Spies for a private screening of the series premiere on Saturday, March 29, 2014 in Houston, Texas.” The photo can be accessed here.
In her post, Lind laid heaps of scorn on the former president. She wrote, “We were instructed to call him Mr. President. 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.”
Lind noted that she came forward now after “the bravery of other women who have spoken up and written about their experiences,” as it related to the still-unfolding scandal and accusations emanating from the Harvey Weinstein affair.
For his part, Bush has apologized via a statement released by his personal spokesman Jim McGrath. He wrote, “President Bush would never—under any circumstance—intentionally cause anyone distress, and he most sincerely apologizes if his attempt at humor offended Ms. Lind.”
LawNewz reached out the Bush Presidential Library and Museum as well as McGrath for comment on this story, but no responses were forthcoming at the time of publication.
[image via shutterstock.com]
Follow Colin Kalmbacher on Twitter: @colinkalmbacher
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