Former model Amy Dorris says President Donald Trump once sexually assaulted her at the US Open tennis tournament in New York, according to an exclusive report from the Guardian.
Dorris alleges Trump was 'forcing his tongue down her throat, assaulting her all over her body and holding her in a grip she was unable to escape from' while outside the bathroom in his VIP box. The alleged assault took place in September 1997, when Dorris was 24 years old; Dorris provided the outlet with her ticket from the tournament as well as photos of her with Trump in New York. At the time, Dorris was dating Jason Binn, a media entrepreneur and friend of Trump's, whom she said brought her to the event.
Dorris told the Guardian, 'He just shoved his tongue down my throat, and I was pushing him off. And then that’s when his grip became tighter, and his hands were very gropey and all over my butt, my breasts, my back, everything.' She continued, 'I was in his grip, and I couldn’t get out of it. I don’t know what you call that when you’re sticking your tongue just down someone’s throat. But I pushed it out with my teeth. I was pushing it. And I think I might have hurt his tongue.'
'I just kind of was in shock,' she told the Guardian. 'I felt violated, obviously. But I still wasn’t processing it and just was trying to go back to talking to everyone and having a good time because, I don’t know, I felt pressured to be that way.' She told her boyfriend Trump needed to leave her alone and that he was all over her.
Trump denied the accusation through his lawyers, who also said Binn has 'no recollection' of Dorris saying she felt uncomfortable around Trump.
Several people corroborated Dorris's story to the Guardian, including her mother and friend, both of whom she called right after the incident. Dorris also told a therapist and other friends over the years. 'All said Dorris had shared with them details of the alleged incident that matched what she later told the Guardian,' the outlet reports.
Dorris explained that she didn't come forward prior to the 2016 election partly because she was afraid that doing so could harm her family. Now, as a mom with twin daughters and 15 months after she first shared the allegation with the outlet, she said, 'I feel like my girls are about to turn 13 years old and I want them to know that you don’t let anybody do anything to you that you don’t want. And I’d rather be a role model. I want them to see that I didn’t stay quiet, that I stood up to somebody who did something that was unacceptable.'
She continued, 'I’m sick of him getting away with this. I’m tired of being quiet. It’s kind of cathartic. I just want to get this out. And I want people to know that this is the man, this is our president. This is the kind of thing he does and it’s unacceptable.'
As of May 2020, Business Insider reports that at least 25 women have accused the president of sexual misconduct.
Madison is the digital deputy editor at ELLE, where she also covers news, politics, and culture. If she’s not online, she’s probably napping or trying not to fall while rock climbing.
