“Celebrity Apprentice” staffers say Donald Trump made sexual comments to Academy Award winner Marlee Matlin and called the deaf actress “retarded” when she competed on the show, the Daily Beast reports.
The Beast, citing three longtime staffers, said Trump would disrespect the actress both to her face and behind her back, treating her as if she were mentally disabled.
During tapings of the reality series, Trump would often scribble down notes from his boardroom seat, and once wrote, “Marlee, is she retarded??,” according to a staffer.
During production breaks, when Trump often remained on mic, he would make fun of her voice, the Beast said. All of the site’s sources spoke on condition of anonymity because of non-disclosure agreements, the site said.
“It actually sounded a lot like what he did [to] the New York Times guy,” another person told the Beast. “Like, to make it seem like she was mentally not there? [It] sounded like he got a real kick out of it. It was really upsetting.”
Richard Hatch, a fellow former “Celebrity Apprentice” contestant, told People magazine on Wednesday that Trump hit on Matlin and Lisa Rinna on the set of the NBC show.
Trump and Matlin declined to comment for the Beast story.
11 Women Who Accuse Donald Trump of Sleaziness - or Much Worse (Photos)
Several women have accused Donald Trump of lewd behavior since the Washington Post reported that he bragged to Billy Bush on a hot mic in 2005 that he kisses and gropes women. Trump has called the comments "locker room talk" and denied assaulting women.
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1997 Miss Utah Temple Taggart told NBC News that Trump kissed her on the lips upon their first meeting. Trump denies it.
Former Miss Vermont Teen USA Mariah Billado told BuzzFeed that Trump walked in on her changing. “I remember putting on my dress really quick because I was like, ‘Oh my god, there’s a man in here,'” she said. Trump bragged to Howard Stern that as a pageant owner, he can "sort of get away" with walking in on women: "You know, I'm inspecting because I want to make sure that everything is good."
Jill Harth sued Trump in 1997, alleging sexual harassment. The suit says that while negotiating a business deal, Trump told Harth’s boyfriend, “You know, there’s going to be a problem … I’m very attracted to your girlfriend.”
Harth withdrew her suit as part of a settlement, according to the New York Times.
Former Miss Arizona Tasha Dixon told CBS2 Los Angeles that Trump would go backstage at the Miss USA pageant while the contestants were changing clothes.
“He just came strolling right in,” Dixon said. “There was no second to put a robe on or any sort of clothing or anything. Some girls were topless. Other girls were naked.”
In the taped conversation with Billy Bush, Trump talked about how he "moved on" the married Nancy O’Dell "very heavily," and admitted that he tried to "f--- her." O'Dell responded: "No female, no person, should be the subject of such crass comments."
On the tape, Billy Bush encourages Arianna Zucker to embrace Trump after Trump has told Bush that he might start kissing her -- unbeknownst to Zucker. When the tape was released, she said she wasn't especially surprised -- "not with that type of personality."
Jessica Leeds told the New York Times that Trump groped her on a plane more than 30 years ago. “He was like an octopus,” Leeds, now 74, told the paper. “His hands were everywhere."
Kristin Anderson told the The Washington Post that she was sitting on a couch with friends at a New York City nightclub in the early ’90s when she suddenly felt someone’s hand reaching up her skirt and touching her through her underwear. After shoving the hand away, she fled the couch and turned to take her first good look at the man who had touched her: It was Trump.
Rachel Crooks, 33, said she was working as a receptionist at a company housed in Trump Tower in 2005 when she met Trump -- who allegedly shook her hand, would not let go, and “kissed me directly on the mouth.”
People Magazine reporter Natasha Stoynoff says Donald Trump physically attacked her around the time of his comments to Billy Bush in 2005, and that he forced himself on her in the same way he described in that conversation. His campaign denies it ever happened.
Former “Apprentice” contestant Summer Zervos claimed Trump kissed her against her will and came on to her. Zervos recounted a an alleged encounter with Trump at the Beverly Hills Hotel, during which she said Trump kissed her “very aggressively,” placed his hand on her breast and thrust his genitals.
Allegations range from kissing strangers to walking in on naked pageant contestants
Several women have accused Donald Trump of lewd behavior since the Washington Post reported that he bragged to Billy Bush on a hot mic in 2005 that he kisses and gropes women. Trump has called the comments "locker room talk" and denied assaulting women.