Former model accuses Trump of sexually assaulting her at the 1997 U.S. Open

Amy Dorris accused Trump of sexual assault

(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/The Guardian)

published 17 September 2020

Amy Dorris, a former model and actress, says President Trump assaulted her outside the bathroom in his VIP box at the U.S. Open in September 1997, The Guardian reported Thursday. The Guardian said it learned of Dorris' story more than a year ago from a model agent she had confided in, and Dorris confirmed her allegation 15 months ago but was unwilling to go public before now. Dorris, 48, was 24 at the time; Trump was 51 and married to Marla Maples.

Several people confirmed she had told them about the assault right after it happened, including a friend and her mother, and in the years after it happened, including a therapist. She also provided several photos of herself and Trump from her trip to New York, including one in Trump's VIP box at the U.S. Open. Trump's lawyers strongly denied that the president had ever harassed, abused, or behaved improperly toward Dorris.

Dorris told The Guardian she had gone to the bathroom in the VIP box, hidden from the rest of the seats by a partition, and when she emerged, Trump was waiting. "He just shoved his tongue down my throat and I was pushing him off," she said. "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 said she couldn't get out of his grip, and Trump continued to hit on her over the next few days, even though she was with her boyfriend, Jason Binn, a friend of Trump's.

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Dorris told The Guardian she considered coming forward in 2016, when a rush of women accused Trump of very similar sexual assaults, but did not want to harm her family. "Now 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," she said. "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."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.