Entertainment Tonight host Nancy O’Dell says she is “saddened” by Donald Trump’s remarks that he wanted to seduce and have sex with her when she was married.
“Politics aside, I’m saddened that these comments still exist in our society at all,” O’Dell wrote in a statement today. “When I heard the comments yesterday, it was disappointing to hear such objectification of women. The conversation needs to change because no female, no person, should be the subject of such crass comments, whether or not cameras are rolling.”
Trump’s lewd comments were recorded in 2005, when he was nearly 60 years old, and released yesterday to much disgust by Republicans and Democrats alike.
“I moved on her,” said Trump to reporter Billy Bush. “Actually, she was down on Palm Beach. I moved on her and I failed. I’ll admit it. I did try and fuck her. She was married.”
Bush was O’Dell’s co-anchor on Access Hollywood at the time. The now Today Show host issued an apology yesterday, and said that he was embarrassed by the conversation.
“Nancy, I moved on her,” continued Trump. “Very heavily. In fact, I took her out furniture shopping. She wanted to get some furniture. I said ‘I’ll show you where they have some nice furniture’. I took her… I moved on her like a bitch. I couldn’t get there and she was married. And all of a sudden I see her. She’s now got the big phony tits and she’s totally changed her look.”
O’Dell, who never dated Trump, says his comments reflect a certain sexism in our society.
“Everyone deserves respect no matter the setting or gender,” said O’Dell. “As a woman who has worked very hard to establish her career, and as a mom, I feel I must speak out with the hope that as a society we will always strive to be better.”
Trump issued the first apology of his campaign in a Facebook video last night, although he spent most of the time attacking his opponent Hillary Clinton.
Polls all year have shown Trump having difficulty attracting women voters. Clinton, in the most recent national poll, leads Trump among women by 20 points.