Former 'Apprentice' contestant accuses Trump of sexual assault

Jory Rand Image
Saturday, October 15, 2016
Former 'Apprentice' contestant accuses Donald Trump of sexual assault
A former contestant on season five of 'The Apprentice' is accusing Donald Trump of making unwanted sexual contact with her at a Beverly Hills hotel in 2007.

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A former contestant on season five of "The Apprentice" is accusing Donald Trump of making unwanted sexual contact with her at a Beverly Hills hotel in 2007.

Summer Zervos, 41, appeared at a news conference Friday in downtown Los Angeles with attorney Gloria Allred.

Zervos claims the alleged incident occurred following her 2006 run on the reality show.

MORE: Trump calls accusers "sick," "horrible," says one "would not be my first choice"

While in New York on a social trip in 2007, Zervos said she contacted Trump for a meeting regarding a possible employment opportunity.

Weeks later, Zervos said Trump invited her to meet him at a hotel in Beverly Hills. Zervos said during that meeting, Trump made unwanted sexual contact with her.

"He grabbed my shoulder and began kissing me again aggressively and placed his hand on my breast," Zervos said.

Zervos says she rejected Trump's advances, and he began talking as if it were a job interview. She said she was offered a low-paying job at a Trump-owned golf course.

Allred said her client told her parents and others about the alleged incident shortly after it occurred.

MORE: Donald Trump calls "vicious" sexual assault allegations "outright lies"

On why Zervos is speaking out now, Allred spoke of the recently surfaced 2005 video, where Trump uses vulgar language about women.

"For Summer Zervos, the 'Access Hollywood' tape hit a nerve," Allred said. "Donald, before you can become the president of the United States, you must first learn how to treat women with respect."

Zervos is among several women who have made sexual allegations against the Republican nominee. He has strenuously denied them.

Trump released a statement regarding Zervos's accusations, reading, in part:

"I vaguely remember Ms. Zervos as one of the many contestants on The Apprentice over the years. To be clear, I never met her at a hotel or greeted her inappropriately a decade ago. That is not who I am as a person, and it is not how I've conducted my life. In fact, Ms. Zervos continued to contact me for help, emailing my office on April 14th of this year asking that I visit her restaurant in California."

Zervos said she is registered Republican and her disclosures are not driven by politics. She said she at one point admired Trump for his business savvy.

In addition to Zervos's accusations, photographer Kristin Anderson came forward claiming he sexually assaulted her in a New York nightclub in the early 1990s.

Anderson told The Washington Post that she was sitting on a couch with friends at the club when someone's hand reached up her skirt and touched her through her underwear. She said she pushed the hand away, turned around and recognized Trump as the man who had groped her. She told the paper, who published her story on Friday, that she does not back Trump or Clinton for president.

At a campaign rally in North Carolina, Trump tried to discredit his accusers, saying because there were no witnesses the accusations were not credible.

Trump also suggested the women who have come forward to accuse him were not physically attractive enough to merit his attention. "Believe me, she would not be my first choice, that I can tell you," he said when speaking of one of the women.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.