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Woman who allegedly endured unwanted kiss from Donald Trump feels ‘forgotten’

AMID the epidemic of sexual misconduct allegations, the most powerful alleged perpetrator has still faced no consequences.

Trump: "I said it, I was wrong, I apologise"

A WOMAN who claims that Donald Trump forcibly kissed her before he became US President says she feels “forgotten” as allegations of sexual harassment engulf Hollywood and Washington.

Rachel Crooks is one of at least 15 women who have accused Donald Trump of sexual misconduct over the decades. The President has dismissed the claims as false and a politically motivated smear campaign.

While Ms Crooks says the flood of allegations against men such as Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein has been “great”, she is frustrated that claims against Mr Trump have refused to stick.

“I’m so thankful that other women are having the courage to come forward but, yes, I do feel forgotten,” she told CNN.

“You can’t help but wonder why people aren’t talking about Trump and the people that came forward for him and why is he immune to this.”

Ms Crooks was working as a receptionist for a company inside Trump Tower in 2005 aged 22 and she would see the businessman “almost daily” as he took the lift up to his residence.

President Donald Trump has denied allegations of sexual misconduct. Picture: AP Photo/Evan Vucci
President Donald Trump has denied allegations of sexual misconduct. Picture: AP Photo/Evan Vucci

“I knew he was a partner of ours so I wanted to introduce myself. I shook his hand and he gave me a kiss on each cheek, which was normal, but he held onto my hand and he continued to kiss my cheeks over and over again as he inserted small talk,” she told CNN.

“He asked me where I was from, if I was a model; he told me he had his own modelling agency, but he kept repeatedly kissing me and then, finally, he kissed me on the lips.

“His elevator arrived and that ended the encounter.

“After that, I ran back into the office and called my sister. I was really upset.”

Rachel Crooks says Donald Trump kissed her forcibly. Picture: Mike Coppola/Getty Images
Rachel Crooks says Donald Trump kissed her forcibly. Picture: Mike Coppola/Getty Images

Ms Crooks has told her story to The New York Times before, which Mr Trump denied at the time.

A stream of other women have accused Mr Trump of unwanted kissing and groping. One of the claims, from former Apprentice contestant Summer Zervos, is currently before the courts.

Ms Crooks’ new interview comes as Mr Trump throws his support behind a senate candidate accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.

Six women say Alabama judge Roy Moore pursued romantic relationships with them when they were teenagers and he was in his 30s, while two others accused him of assault or molestation. Mr Moore has denied all of the claims.

Former Alabama chief justice Roy Moore is heading into a senate election next week under a cloud of sexual misconduct allegations. Picture: AP Photo/Brynn Anderson
Former Alabama chief justice Roy Moore is heading into a senate election next week under a cloud of sexual misconduct allegations. Picture: AP Photo/Brynn Anderson

Despite the controversy, Mr Trump has thrown his support behind Mr Moore, saying the senate needs someone who will support the Republican agenda.

The President called the candidate from Air Force One on Monday and said: “Go get ’em, Roy!”

Last month, Mr Trump discounted the women who accused Mr Moore of sexual misconduct.

“If you look at what is really going on … he totally denies it, he says it didn’t happen,” the President said.

The infamous Access Hollywood tape, where Mr Trump bragged that women let him “grab ’em by the pussy”, is also back in the news after reports circulated that the President was denying in private that the voice on the video was his.

The man who interviewed him on the tape, Billy Bush, has written a stinging opinion piece vouching for the veracity of the recording.

Billy Bush has said in an opinion piece that it was indeed Donald Trump’s voice on the 2005 Access Hollywood tape. Picture: Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP
Billy Bush has said in an opinion piece that it was indeed Donald Trump’s voice on the 2005 Access Hollywood tape. Picture: Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP

“He said it. ‘Grab ’em by the pussy.’ Of course he said it,” Bush wrote in The New York Times.

“And we laughed along, without a single doubt that this was hypothetical hot air from America’s highest-rated bloviater.

“Every single one of us assumed we were listening to a crass stand-up act. He was performing. Surely, we thought, none of this was real.”

Bush, who lost his job at the US Today show over the tape, said Mr Trump was “indulging in some revisionist history”.
Ms Crooks told CNN she wasn’t surprised by Mr Trump casting doubt on the Access Hollywood tape.

“I think he’s a pathological liar,” she said.

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-life/woman-who-allegedly-endured-unwanted-kiss-from-donald-trump-feels-forgotten/news-story/765778fc1a1037b3b286dfa2392de66f