George Bush Snr sexually assaulted me while sitting in his wheelchair, claims actress
GEORGE Bush Snr apologised yesterday after an actress claimed he ‘sexually assaulted’ her from his wheelchair.
The former US president was accused by Heather Lind, 34, of touching her ‘from behind’ when they posed for a photograph.
The American actress claimed on Instagram that Mr Bush told a ‘dirty joke’ and assaulted her twice as his wife Barbara and five other actors stood beside them.
She deleted the statement ten hours later after facing criticism for using her social media account to make the claims almost four years after meeting Mr Bush at a private screening of TV series Turn: Washington’s Spies in Houston, Texas.
But British actor Kevin McNally, who stood next to Miss Lind in the March 2014 photo, backed her claim, writing on Twitter: ‘My full support for @heatherglind for speaking out about the horrible event in Houston. All of which is true.’
A spokesman for the 93-year-old expresident, who suffers from a rare syndrome called vascular parkinsonism that is similar to Parkinson’s, said yesterday that ‘he most sincerely apologises if his attempt at humour offended Miss Lind’.
Author Alexander Rose, on whose book the TV show was based and who attended the event, said: ‘Her account is 100 per cent accurate. I was there. It was not a “joke” gone awry.’ Miss Lind said she decided to publish her claim after she saw a photo of Mr Bush with Barack Obama at a charity event on Saturday.
She wrote: ‘He touched me from behind from his wheelchair with his wife Barbara 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 actress suggested that ‘judging from the comments of those around him’ it seemed Mr Bush, who was president from 1989 to 1993, had made improper advances to ‘countless other women’. There is no suggestion this is true.
Her claim follows dozens of allegations of rape, sexual assault and harassment against producer Harvey Weinstein. The scandal has seen thousands of women highlight the scale of the problem by sharing their experiences on social media using the hashtag #MeToo. Miss Lind’s statement, which also used the hashtag, was greeted with both criticism and praise.
One critic said: ‘Awards for bravery don’t belong to women who post on Instagram ... I am not saying sexual harassment or assault don’t cause most victims to feel fear and shame, but I am saying that it isn’t all the same.’ Another wrote: ‘You are terrible. He was 89 years old and has some dementia and vascular Parkinson’s. You were not sexually assaulted. You cheapen every person that was.’
But a third wrote: ‘I am so sorry that you had to deal with that! This story has really upset me.’