Former Apprentice contestant accuses Trump of unwanted sexual advances


Summer Zervos, a former contestant on Donald Trump's show The Apprentice, appeared at a press conference Friday to accuse the Republican nominee of unwanted sexual advances, Politico reports. In the "tearful press conference," Zervos explained that she had reached out to Trump in the hopes of working for his organization in 2007:
[Zervos] met with [Trump] in his New York office, Zervos said, when he kissed her unexpectedly multiple times on the lips, and he later suggested meeting in Los Angeles to discuss her employment. At the hotel, Zervos alleges, Trump attempted to make a sexual advance on her, and she rebuffed him. After the encounter, Zervos said, she still sought employment with the Trump Organization, and believed she was not offered a job there because she had denied his advances. [Politico]
Zervos made the comments alongside attorney Gloria Allred, who formerly represented several of the women who accused actor Bill Cosby of sexual assault, Politico reports.
Also on Friday, The Washington Post published an account by a woman who said Trump reached up her skirt at a club in the early 1990s. She and Zervos join a growing list of women who have come forward to accuse Trump of inappropriate, non-consensual sexual conduct. Trump and his surrogates have vehemently denied all allegations.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
June 1 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include Donald Trump's golden comb-over, brain drain in America, and a new TACO presidential seal.
-
5 cartoons about the TACO trade
Cartoons Political cartoonists take on America's tariffs, Vladimir Putin waiting for taco Tuesday, and a new presidential seal
-
A city of culture in the high Andes
The Week Recommends Cuenca is a must-visit for those keen to see the 'real Ecuador'
-
White House tackles fake citations in MAHA report
speed read A federal government public health report spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was rife with false citations
-
Judge blocks push to bar Harvard foreign students
speed read Judge Allison Burroughs sided with Harvard against the Trump administration's attempt to block the admittance of international students
-
Trump's trade war whipsawed by court rulings
Speed Read A series of court rulings over Trump's tariffs renders the future of US trade policy uncertain
-
Elon Musk departs Trump administration
speed read The former DOGE head says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies
-
Trump taps ex-personal lawyer for appeals court
speed read The president has nominated Emil Bove, his former criminal defense lawyer, to be a federal judge
-
US trade court nullifies Trump's biggest tariffs
speed read The US Court of International Trade says Trump exceeded his authority in imposing global tariffs
-
Trump pauses all new foreign student visas
speed read The State Department has stopped scheduling interviews with those seeking student visas in preparation for scrutiny of applicants' social media
-
Trump pardons Virginia sheriff convicted of bribery
speed read Former sheriff Scott Jenkins was sentenced to 10 years in prison on federal bribery and fraud charges