George Bush Senior apology to Heather Lind after sex assault claim
Former US President George Bush Senior has apologised for any distress caused after an actress accused him of sexual assault.
Heather
Lind said the 93-year-old former president had "touched me from behind
from his wheelchair" and told a "dirty joke" while posing for a photo.
Ms Lind made the allegation on social network Instagram, in a post which has since been deleted.
A spokesman for Mr Bush said the incident was an attempt at humour.
"President
Bush would never - under any circumstance - intentionally cause anyone
distress, and he most sincerely apologises if his attempt at humour
offended Ms Lind," a statement supplied to outlets including the Daily
Mail and People magazine said.
Both websites preserved the contents of Ms Lind's post before it was deleted.
Mr
Bush served one term as US president from 1989 to 1993, and is the
father of George W Bush, who served two terms in the office between 2001
and 2009.
He suffers from a form of Parkinson's disease.
The incident allegedly took place during an event for the television
show Turn: Washington's Spies, in which Ms Lind is one of the main cast
members.
In her Instagram post, Ms Lind said she was spurred to
make the claim after seeing a photo of Barack Obama shaking Mr Bush
Senior's hand at a recent fundraiser for hurricane victims, which she
said had "disturbed" her.
"He sexually assaulted me while I was
posing for a similar photo. He didn't shake my hand. He touched me from
behind from his wheelchair with his wife Barbara Bush by his side," she
wrote, according to the Daily Mail's transcript of the deleted post.
"He told me a dirty joke. And then, all the while being photographed, touched me again," she added.
Ms Lind finished her post with the hashtag #metoo, which has
seen widespread use by victims of sexual assault to share their
experiences in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein Hollywood scandal.
"What comforts me is that I too can use my power, which isn't so different from a president really," she said.
"I am grateful for the bravery of other women who have spoken up and written about their experiences."
BBC
No comments
Your comments and Encouragement are welcome