Celebrity News October 15, 2016
'Apprentice' Alums Slam Donald Trump
It's been a tough month for Donald Trump's presidential campaign, and things are only going more boardroom-ballistic, with three "Apprentice" franchise alums attacking Trump when he's down.
On Friday, Summer Zervos, a candidate on Season 5 of "The Apprentice," appeared at a press conference with feminist lawyer Gloria Allred to accuse Trump of "aggressively" sexually assaulting her at an L.A. hotel in 2007, after her ride on the show ended.
Stating that Trump kissed her on the mouth at a business meeting at the Beverly Hills Hotel, Zervos recalled 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.”
Once there, she claims Trump suggested they lie on the bed to watch "telly telly."
“He put me in an embrace and I tried to push him away,” she read from a prepared statement. “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."
Zervos, whose story was ridiculed by her cousin, has not yet filed suit against Trump, but said she came forward in spite of being a fellow Republican because she wanted to "be able to sleep when I'm 70."
In response to rumors that Trump referred to her as "retarded" behind her back during her time on "Celebrity Apprentice," People magazine reports that deaf actress Marlee Matlin tweeted a statement calling the term itself "abhorrent" in this day and age and asserting that people should not insult and attempt to take each other down.
My response to recent media reports - Marlee. pic.twitter.com/Mkrbh47dUO
@MarleeMatlin
Finally, rapper Lil Jon has confirmed a Daily Beast report that Trump used to refer to him by the racially insensitive term "Uncle Tom" when he was on 2013's "All Star Celebrity Apprentice."
The 45-year-old musician wrote on Twitter that he and others spoke to Trump and urged him to stop saying the phrase. "I can't say if he knew what he was actually saying or not," Jon conceded, "but he did stop using that term..."
The remarks that seem to have kicked off an avalanche of complaints regarding Trump's behavior, a raunchy conversation with Billy Bush in which he bragged of kissing and groping women without consent, have already led to Bush's suspension from his current gig on NBC's "Today." Now comes word from CNN that Bush is on the verge of settling with NBC, which could lead to a $10-million lump payment from the network in order to end his contract early.
Trump has denied that he was being sincere when he made those remarks, and has denied all allegations of sexual impropriety.