Former President George H.W. Bush Accused by Heather Lind of Touching Her
At what point does this go too far?
WASHINGTON — A television actress has accused former President George H.W. Bush of touching her from behind while she was posing for a photo alongside him and telling her a dirty joke.
People magazine reports Heather Lind said in a now-deleted Instagram post that the incident took place while she was posing for a photo with Bush during a promotional tour for her AMC series "TURN: Washington's Spies." Lind appears alongside the 93-year-old Bush, who's seated in a wheelchair, in a photo together at a Houston screening of the series in 2014.
Bush's wife, Barbara, was present during the incident, Lind added.
Bush spokesman Jim McGrath said in a statement: "President Bush would never — under any circumstance — intentionally cause anyone distress, and he most sincerely apologizes if his attempt at humor offended Ms. Lind."
In Lind's Instagram post, which was shared on her official account, the actress said she was "disturbed" after looking at a photo of Bush shaking hands with former President Barack Obama during Saturday night's Hurricane Harvey relief concert .
She recounted her meeting with Bush during a press event that he "touched" her from behind and told her a "dirty joke" before touching her again. She alleges his security guard told her that she shouldn't have stood next to him.
"What comforts me is that I too can use my power, which isn't so different from a President really," Lind wrote. "I can enact positive change."
Lind concluded the post with the hashtag #metoo , which has been a rallying cry on social media in recent weeks for women to share personal stories of sexual harassment.
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Sexual assault, sexual harassment is something that should be taken seriously - it happened to me, I was sexually assaulted .. but I spoke out at that moment, did not wait til there was an avalanche of supporters claiming the same thing!
At some point claims can go too far - where is that line and when does it get crossed?
When I was in middle school, two of the popular girls in my class goosed me when I was going up the stairs. I have kept this dark secret hidden away in my psyche for decades. It feels amazing to get it out in the open.
HA! Glad you feel better : )
Yes, I, also, reported my incident immediately.
It is despicable that this woman has come out with this trash. A 90 year old man who has to be vilified like this. I guarantee that this is not the end of it.
What other choice does he have, in the current climate, if he was to denied it .. prob more would pile on with accusations of their own (which could still happen) It only takes one accusation to start an avalanche...
I have no clue if this is true or not, but I tend to dismiss the claim based on her being 'disturbed' when she saw the hand shake with Obama - did it bring memories flooding back of the dreaded day she was touched? Good thing she was not pinned to the wall in a dark shop being kissed on the neck, by a supervisor from another crew .. that had his dick out already .. while ripping her coveralls off. 'cuz then she would know what "disturbed" really meant!
I vented - my bad!
Morning Magnoliaave...
The claim may not be trash .. yet the timing is suspect. I certainly do not find these women speaking out about all the horror they have been through as heroic. Speaking out when it happened [as you and I did] is far more heroic than letting a man get away with it for years creating more victims in the individuals wake ...
The Qwyneth's and Angelina's are pathetic .. these strong woman to be looked up to ... blah blah blah speak out NOW? Pfft!
Cannot argue with you on the subject ..
Take Bill Clinton with him as he is wheeled off!
Morning to you.
There is simply no reason for this woman to bring this out, except, to get some media time.
Did my life change drastically because this man at work came into my office and grabbed me with his stinking body pushed against mine? I got free and he ran off like a rat. I immediately found someone still working (it was after 5); went home; told my husband and then, reported it the next day. It did not change my life.
We all know why they put up with it don't we? They are enablers and coming out now makes them hypocrites.
so sorry, both of you. what horrific experiences.
I don't judge women who don't report the assault at the time, but it can also be hard to understand why not?
I would like to think that I would call the police immediately. I don't care who it is or if I lost everything I worked hard for.
I have not experienced any type of sexual assault physically, verbally many times. And I never gave it a pass.
I feel so bad for you two, I just can't imagine the horror.
Thank you.
I can see not reporting it if you are threatened or a very young girl and scared with no one to turn it.
Life goes on.
It is not my intent to sound as though I am judging - yet it does come off as though I am ... I am more disappointed, as waiting so long adds to a credibility problem through lack of understanding why they did not come forward. I know what I have been told the reasons are - yet it makes NO sense to me to choke on something like that for years ... while in some cases then singing the mans praises in public (?)
I was a welder, and worked with men daily .. sexual banter was part of the atmosphere - I could give as good as I got [burn them before they could burn me kind of stuff especially on Monday morning]
I think I was more angry than horrified, I knew he was doing it out of resentment for me running the blue prints on the job - he was 'putting me in my place' through dominance so to speak.... when I got NO results from the powers that be, I walked off the job (my word against his) He was fired after I walked off and I was asked to return - which I did not do.
When things like this are ignored, the problem for someone else only becomes worse .. in my opinion..
Thank you for being someone that spoke out when it happened to you!
That is how I see it! Yet Sunshine is right in not judging ... with the Hollywood A list'rs - however I think I do judge them differently for not coming forward.
Yes indeed it does and it feels good to have never kept a deep dark secret about sexual assault!
I certainly didn't think that. I was trying not to sound judgemental myself.
exactly
There does appear to be a fine line regarding being judgmental when discussing a topic like sexual assault ...
Opinions, experiences, among other things are different .. some elderly man in a wheel chair touching me from behind would have gotten an instant reaction .. ultimately I would prob end up joking with him - not everything is meant to degrade...
When I bartend'd a blue collar working mans bar - this lil elder man would grab a chair and drag it to the bar in order to stand on it and give me a hug (I am 6'2) to me it was harmless to others he was doing nothing more than pressing my breast to his chest, yeah and................? no harm no foul in my view ....
public accusations are questionable. when is it smearing or when is it truth?
In this case, it is smearing the reputation IMO.
it maybe both.
"Lind concluded the post with the hashtag #metoo , which has been a rallying cry on social media in recent weeks for women to share personal stories of sexual harassment."
I guess she needed some Hollywood type press time.
Who the Hell is Heather Lind anyway.
A 34-year-old Hollywood woman a lot of people have never heard of waits 3 years to "report" that a 90-year-old man in a wheelchair allegedly "touched" her and told her a "dirty joke" when his wife and others were nearby and Lind thinks that's "sexual assault"? Wow. Bush 41 hasn't looked strong enough to squash an ant let alone "sexually assault" someone for years.
You are right. Mrs. Bush was standing right there. It's not like he took his wheelchair and cornered her. At his age, there is a little senility.
When I was a young woman working in the city, mostly, during the lunch hour we would walk the sidewalks to go wherever. Construction workers would, sometimes, give a catcall and, then, wave and we would wave back. Now, some would take great exception to this, but we didn't. it depends on the circumstances. This was an innocent encounter between men and women with no malice intended.
I'm not going to lie, I don't see this at all either. I've encountered different harassment over the course of my life and this just doesn't seem likely given the circumstances.
I may have missed it, but I haven't read that Bush 41 suffers from "senility". It's documented that he does have vascular parkinsonism. Some people present with varied symptoms within the wide range of "dementia" and others do not.
I haven't read it either. Just saying.....at that age the mind is not as sharp! Even though my mother at 92 was not diagnosed with senility her mind played tricks on her.