JOURNALIST ACCUSES REV. JACKSON OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT
The Rev. Jesse Jackson has been added to the long list of powerful men accused of sexual harassment, following a journalist’s claim that the iconic civil rights leader and Chicago community organizer groped her thigh after a speaking engagement.
In an article published Monday on the African- American culture blog The Root, writer Danielle Young described walking up to Jackson to take a photo after he spoke at a company conference.
“His eyes scanned my entire body,” Young wrote. “All of a sudden, I felt naked in my sweater and jeans. As I walked within arm’s reach of him, Jackson reached out a hand and grabbed my thigh, saying, ‘ I like all of that right there!’ and gavemy thigh a tight squeeze.”
Young did not specify the date or location of the alleged incident, but a statement from a spokesman for Jackson indicated it happened in 2014.
“Although Rev. Jackson does not recall the meeting three years ago, he profoundly and sincerely regrets any pain Ms. Young may have experienced,” the statement read.
Young wrote that she laughed nervously as a co- worker took photos, including one that shows her pointing at the camera, “asking [ Jackson] if we can just take the picture.”
“And I continued to giggle as he pulled me in closer, stared down atmy body, smiled and told me he was only kidding,” she wrote.
In the same post, Young also accused director John Singleton of making unwanted advances when she interviewed him at a film festival. Representatives for Singleton did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
Jackson writes aweekly column for the Chicago Sun- Times.