WASHINGTON _ Former President George H.W. Bush apologized Wednesday after actress Heather Lind accused him of touching her inappropriately while posing for a photo several years ago.
A spokesman for Bush did not explicitly deny the account in a statement to The Washington Post, and later issued a second statement indicating Bush has occasionally "patted women's rears in what he intended to be a good-natured manner."
The issue erupted Wednesday when a spokesman for Bush responded to an Instagram post by Lind that has since been deleted. In the post, the actress accused the 93-year-old former president of groping her as they posed for a photo taken during a promotion for a television show.
Lind wrote that she was "disturbed" by a photo of President Barack Obama and Bush shaking hands during an event in College Station to raise money for Hurricane Harvey relief.
"But when I got the chance to meet George H.W. Bush four years ago to promote a historical television show I was working on, he sexually assaulted me while I was posing for a similar photo," the post by the 34-year-old read. "He didn't shake my hand. He touched me from behind from his wheelchair with his wife Barbara Bush by his side. He told me a dirty joke. And then, all the while being photographed, touched me again."
A spokesman for Bush initially said the president apologizes for his "attempt at humor" and did not explicitly deny the accusation. But a second statement said the president, who uses a wheelchair, frequently has his arm lower on the waists of people when he takes photos.
"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," the second statement read. "To anyone he has offended, President Bush apologizes most sincerely."
CNN pointed to a photo of the actress and the former president taken during the promotion of AMC's "TURN: Washington's Spies." Lind, who plays Anna Strong in the Revolutionary War-era drama, has not confirmed if it is the photo she is referring to.
The show premiered in 2014.
Lind used the hashtag #MeToo in her post, adding to a long list of women around the world who have used social media to share their own stories of sexual harassment or assault.
The social media campaign began after The New York Times published an investigation earlier this month on sexual harassment allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein dating back to 1990.
