Ex-‘Apprentice’ contestant files defamation suit against Trump
LOS ANGELES — A former contestant on TV’s “The Apprentice” on Tuesday filed a defamation lawsuit against President-elect Donald Trump, whom she has accused of making unwanted sexual advances toward her.
Summer Zervos announced the lawsuit at a downtown Los Angeles news conference with her attorney, Gloria Allred, three days before Trump’s inauguration.
Zervos, who appeared on the fifth season of the reality show, said Trump had tried to seduce her at the Beverly Hills Hotel in 2007, kissing her on the mouth without her consent and pressing himself against her. She tearfully described darting around a hotel room to avoid physical contact with Trump, even as she sought employment from him.
Zervos said in October that she felt compelled to go public with the accusations after seeing the “Access Hollywood” recording in which Trump made crude comments about grabbing women by the genitals.
The lawsuit was filed in New York.
Trump responded by denying Zervos’ allegations and saying he “vaguely” recalled her from the reality-television show he hosted for more than a decade.
“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,” Trump said in a statement.
On Tuesday, Zervos said she would retract her lawsuit if Trump issued a retraction of his statements about her.
“I would still be willing to dismiss my case against him immediately for no monetary compensation if he will simply retract his false and defamatory statements about me and acknowledge that I told the truth about him,” Zervos said.
Trump’s media relations team did not respond to a request for comment.