On Wednesday, Heather Lind accused former President George H.W. Bush of groping her during a photo. Today, actress Jordana Grolnick is accusing former President George H.W. Bush of groping.
Like Lind, Grolnick posted something on Instagram and then either deleted the post or made her account private. If you want to see the photo, head over to Deadspin’s story to check it out.
Here’s what Grolnick told Deadspin:
“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!’”
According to the story, Bush loves using that joke and butt squeeze to ease the tension.
Grolnick said she tried telling people, but either they didn’t believe her or gave Bush the “he’s an old man pass.” Grolnick didn’t seem to think much of it until recently, when everyone now feels comfortable admitting that they’ve been sexually assaulted.
So, are we going to now admit that Bush being old has nothing to do with this? He tells the joke, he gets his polite laugh, and then he inappropriately squeezes someone’s butt without their permission. He knows what he’s doing, but he does it anyway. And he knows he can get away with it because he’s a former President, he’s old, and his wife laughs it off like it’s nothing.
Given how many photos Bush has taken in his life, I’m willing to bet that Lind and Grolnick are not the last women who come out and accuse Bush of groping them. I’d say everyone is piling on, but until he makes a halfway decent apology, I say bury the fool.
This is what a representative had to say in the face of these latest accusations against Bush:
“At age 93, President Bush has been confined to a wheelchair for roughly five years, so his arm falls on the lower waist of people with whom he takes pictures. 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. Some have seen it as innocent; others clearly view it as inappropriate. To anyone he has offended, President Bush apologizes most sincerely.”
If you put “To anyone I offended, I apologize” in your apology, you’re not actually sorry for your actions. You’re sorry they took it the wrong way.
How hard is it to just say, “I am sorry for my actions. I should not have violated you or groped you in the manner that I did. There is no excuse for my behavior or poor sense of humor. I apologize and will not do it again.”
That one is free, George. The next one is going to cost you triple whatever you’re paying your current staff of morons.