For the second time on Friday, a woman accused Republican presidential Donald Trump of sexual assault.
Summer Zervos, a contestant on the fifth season of The Apprentice, said in a press conference alongside attorney Gloria Allred that Trump kissed her, grabbed her breasts, and at one point began “thrusting his genitals.”
Zervos’ allegations come a week after the Washington Post published a 2005 video from Access Hollywood of Trump boasting of his ability to commit sexual assault with impunity because he’s “a star.”
The alleged incident between Zervos and Trump occurred in 2007, after Trump “fired” her from The Apprentice. Zervos said she saw Trump “as a possible mentor and potential employer.” Trump, she said, agreed to meet her at his office after she reached out for a lunch meeting.
“When I arrived, he kissed me on the lips. I was surprised, but felt that perhaps that was just his form of greeting,” Zervos said in a prepared statement. At the end of their meeting, during which Trump was “extremely complimentary,” according to Zervos, Trump allegedly kissed her again, which made her feel “very nervous and embarrassed.”
A few days later, according to Zervos, Trump invited her to meet him at a hotel in Los Angeles, where Zervos lived. She agreed. Instead of going to a restaurant, however, she says Trump had her meet him in a “bungalow.” Zervos continued:
He had his suit on. I stood up and he came to me and started kissing me open mouthed as he was pulling me towards him. I walked away and I sat down on a chair. He was on a love seat across from me and I made an attempt at conversation. He then asked me to sit next to him. I complied. He then grabbed my shoulder and began kissing me again very aggressively and placed his hand on my breast. I pulled back and walked to another part of the room. He then walked up, he grabbed my hand and walked me into the bedroom.
I walked out. He then turned me around and said, “Let’s lay down and watch some telly telly.” He put me in an embrace and I tried to push him away. I pushed his chest to put space between us and I said come on man, “Get real.” He repeated my words back to me, “Get real,” as he began thrusting his genitals. He tried to kiss me again and, with my hand still on his chest, I said, “Dude, you’re trippin’ right now,” attempting to make it clear that I was not interested. He said, what do you want? I said I came to have dinner. He said, “OK, we will have dinner.” He paced around the room. He acted like he was a bit angry. He pointed out that someone had delivered a fruit basket. I felt it was to show me how important he was.
A total of 15 women have publicly accused Trump of sexual assault or harassment, including Zervos and Kirsten Anderson, a former model who told the Washington Post that Trump reached up her skirt at a Manhattan nightclub in the 1990s without her permission.
Trump has denied these allegations and attributed their arrival less than a month from Election Day to a media conspiracy against him.
Allred, who is representing Zervos, said during the press conference that two witnesses have corroborated her allegations. She also asserted that Zervos’ “contact with me was long before politics were involved.”
Read Zervos’ full statement below:
