On Tuesday, in a now-deleted Instagram post, actress Heather Lind accused former president George H.W. Bush of groping her while they were taking a photo together. The following evening, Deadspin published an account from actress Jordana Grolnick, who said that Bush acted the same way with her: “He reached his right hand around to my behind, 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 apologized via a spokesperson twice, saying: “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.”
Meaning: he didn’t even deny the accusations! But upon seeing that apology, NBC anchor Andrea Mitchell decided to weigh in, tweeting: “Mrs Bush was at his side. He is in a wheelchair with Parkinson’s syndrome. Really? Someone should be ashamed and it isn’t ‘41.”
The Bush groping allegations come in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, when women in several industries and walks of life have been coming out to accuse other powerful men of sexual harassment.
