Trigger Warning: This article talks about sexual assault and abuse. Please take care while reading.
Donald Trump‘s history with sexual misconduct accusations is long and widely known. Stacey Williams, an American model who worked primarily in the 1990s, is joining the fold with claims the ex-president groped her during a visit to Trump Tower with her then-fling Jeffrey Epstein in 1993.
Williams told The Guardian she felt like a “piece of meat” in a “twisted game,” being thrown around between the two men after Trump, 22 years her senior, pulled her toward him and non-consensually groped her breasts, waist, and buttocks. She recalls freezing on the spot from the shock and seeing Trump and Epstein exchange sick smiles.
The former model, who eventually gave up on public life, had been casually dating Epstein when he proposed paying a visit to Trump during a walk. She says she was unaware of his conduct toward women. The New York financier and real estate developer died by suicide in his cell in 2019 after being arrested on federal charges for sexually trafficking minors in Florida and New York. In 2008, he served 13 months for soliciting prostitution.
In 2002, Trump famously told New York magazine he had known Epstein for 15 years, calling him a “terrific guy,” and commenting on their shared love for “beautiful women, (…) many of them on the younger side.” During Williams and Epstein’s encounter with the former president, Williams says it became clear the two “were really, really good friends and spent a lot of time together.”
Some months later, Trump sent the model a postcard of an aerial view of Mar-a-Lago, his Palm Beach residence and resort. The document, which she shared with The Guardian, showed a note, allegedly written by the then-47-year-old saying “Stacey — Your home away from home. Love, Donald.”
Williams also shared her story at a Survivors for Kamala Zoom meeting in support of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, in which she was joined by actress Ashley Judd and academic Anita Hill, among others. In a statement to The Guardian, Trump’s camp said the model’s allegations were “unequivocally false,” and that the story had been “contrived by the Harris campaign.” They also claimed Williams was an activist for Barack Obama.”
The former model says that when she and Epstein left the building he was upset at her, not looking at or speaking to her. When they were on the sidewalk he asked her why she had let Trump touch her that way. “He made me feel so disgusting and I remember being so utterly confused,” she said.
“I felt shame and disgust and as we went our separate ways, I felt this sensation of revisiting it, while the hands were all over me. And I had this horrible pit in my stomach that it was somehow orchestrated.”
Over the past 50 years, Trump has been accused of sexually harassing and assaulting at least 26 women. In 2023, a New York jury found the Republican presidental nominee liable for sexual abuse and defamation against writer E. Jean Carroll. He was required to pay $5 million in damages.
If you or a loved one are a survivor of sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline (1-800-656-4673) or visit its website for confidential support.
Published: Oct 24, 2024 06:08 am