UPDATED at 5:20 p.m. PT: Bush’s spokesperson issued a fuller statement addressing the accusation on Wednesday afternoon:
“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.”
PREVIOUSLY:
Actress Heather Lind claimed in a Monday Instagram post that former President George H.W. Bush “sexually assaulted” her during a photo shoot four years ago. The post has since been removed from her social media page.
In the Instagram post, which readers can see below via a screen grab, Lind said Bush “touched me from behind” and then “told me a dirty joke.”
Bush’s wife Barbara Bush was “by his side” at the time, Lind recalled.
“And then, all the while being photographed, touched me again,” her lengthy Instagram post continued. “Barbara rolled her eyes as if to say ‘not again.’ His security guard told me I shouldn’t have stood next to him for the photo.”
Here’s a snapshot of the post, which is no longer available in full:
A rep for Bush declined to comment to TheWrap but issued an apology to multiple media outlets saying that the former president “would never — under any circumstance — intentionally cause anyone distress.” TheWrap did not immediately hear back from Lind’s reps as to why her post was apparently deleted.