Access Hollywood Tape and Pattern of Sexual Misconduct Allegations (20+ Accusers)
Tier 3Closed (Zervos lawsuit withdrawn; no criminal charges filed)2005-09-01 to 2021-11-12
Factual Summary
On October 7, 2016, The Washington Post published a video recording made in September 2005 in which Donald Trump, then a private citizen and television personality, spoke with Access Hollywood host Billy Bush while traveling to an NBC studio lot in a tour bus. Trump was preparing to appear as a guest on the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives. In the recording, Trump described attempting to seduce a married woman, stated he could kiss women without their consent because of his celebrity status, and said: "When you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab 'em by the pussy. You can do anything." Bush, who was fired from the Today show following the tape's release, later confirmed the authenticity of the recording. The tape became public thirty-one days before the 2016 presidential election and two days before the second presidential debate between Trump and Hillary Clinton.
Trump issued a public apology on October 7, 2016, calling his words "locker room talk" and characterizing them as a private conversation from eleven years prior. He added that his language did not reflect who he was and that he apologized if "anyone was offended." At the October 9, 2016 debate, Trump repeated the phrase "locker room talk" and stated he had never acted on the statements he made in the recording. He did not deny the authenticity of the tape. In November 2017, The New York Times reported that Trump had privately told associates the voice on the tape was not his. Billy Bush publicly rebutted this claim in a New York Times op-ed, stating: "Of course he said it."
Following the tape's release, more than twenty women came forward publicly to allege that Trump had committed acts of sexual misconduct against them spanning from the early 1970s through the mid-2000s. The allegations range in severity from unwanted kissing and groping to forcible touching and assault. The named accusers include:
**Jessica Leeds** alleged that on an airplane flight in the late 1970s or early 1980s, Trump, seated next to her in first class, lifted the armrest and groped her breasts and attempted to put his hand up her skirt. She recounted the incident to The New York Times in October 2016.
**Natasha Stoynoff**, a former People magazine staff writer, alleged that in December 2005, while she was at Mar-a-Lago to conduct an interview with Trump and Melania Trump, Trump led her into a private room, pushed her against a wall, and forcibly kissed her. Her account was published by People in October 2016, corroborated by multiple colleagues and a friend who stated she had told them of the incident at the time.
**Summer Zervos**, a former contestant on The Apprentice, alleged that in 2007 she approached Trump for career advice. She stated that Trump kissed her without consent during a meeting at his New York office and later, at a dinner meeting at the Beverly Hills Hotel, groped her, touched her breast, and pressed his genitals against her. Zervos came forward publicly in October 2016.
**Karena Virginia** alleged that in 1998 at the US Open tennis tournament, Trump grabbed her arm and touched her breast without consent.
**Mindy McGillivary** alleged that at a 2003 event at Mar-a-Lago, Trump grabbed her buttocks without consent.
**Rachel Crooks** alleged that in 2005, while working as a receptionist at a company in Trump Tower, Trump kissed her on the cheeks and then directly on the mouth without consent after she introduced herself to him in an elevator lobby.
**Cathy Heller** alleged that at a Mother's Day brunch at Mar-a-Lago in the late 1990s, Trump grabbed her face and kissed her on the mouth over her objection while her husband and children were present.
Other public accusers, including Temple Taggart McDowell (a former Miss Utah who alleged unwanted kissing), Cassandra Searles (a former Miss Washington who alleged groping), and Kristin Anderson (who alleged groping under her skirt at a New York nightclub in the early 1990s), have given similar accounts. Several accusers stated that Trump's statements on the Access Hollywood tape were consistent with behavior they had personally experienced.
Trump denied all allegations from all accusers. He and his campaign characterized the women as liars motivated by political opposition or seeking attention. His attorneys threatened to sue several accusers and media outlets for defamation. No defamation suits against accusers were filed by Trump.
**The Zervos Defamation Lawsuit.** In January 2017, Summer Zervos filed a defamation lawsuit against Trump in New York State Supreme Court, alleging that Trump had damaged her reputation by publicly calling her a liar when he denied her account of the 2007 incidents. Trump's legal team sought to have the suit dismissed or delayed on presidential immunity grounds. The New York Court of Appeals rejected the immunity argument in September 2019, allowing the case to proceed. Trump's subsequent appeal to the United States Supreme Court was denied. On November 12, 2021, Zervos voluntarily withdrew the lawsuit with prejudice. Her attorneys issued a statement confirming she had accepted no monetary compensation and that she stood by the allegations in her complaint. The dismissal was agreed to by both sides and is not a finding in Trump's favor on the merits.
Primary Sources
1. The Washington Post, "Trump recorded having extremely lewd conversation about women in 2005," October 7, 2016: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-recorded-having-extremely-lewd-conversation-about-women-in-2005/2016/10/07/3b9ce776-8cb4-11e6-bf8a-3d26847eeed4_story.html
2. Billy Bush, "Yes, Donald Trump, It Was Indeed That Tape," The New York Times, December 3, 2017 (op-ed confirming tape authenticity): https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/03/opinion/billy-bush-trump-access-hollywood-tape.html
3. Stipulation of Discontinuance, Zervos v. Trump, Index No. 150522/2017 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Nov. 12, 2021), per Courthouse News Service: https://www.courthousenews.com/trump-accuser-settles-defamation-case-without-compensation/
4. New York Court of Appeals, Zervos v. Trump, 2019 N.Y. LEXIS 2628 (Sept. 26, 2019), rejecting presidential immunity argument
Corroborating Sources
1. The New York Times, "Two Women Say Donald Trump Touched Them Inappropriately," October 12, 2016 (Leeds and Crooks accounts)
2. People magazine, "My Twelve Hours of Terror with Donald Trump," October 12, 2016 (Stoynoff account)
3. Wikipedia, "Donald Trump sexual misconduct allegations" (comprehensive documented list with citations): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_sexual_misconduct_allegations
4. ABC News, "List of Trump's accusers and their allegations of sexual misconduct": https://abcnews.com/Politics/list-trumps-accusers-allegations-sexual-misconduct/story?id=51956410
5. Time magazine, "These Are the Women Who Have Accused President Trump of Sexual Misconduct": https://time.com/5058646/donald-trump-accusers/
6. NPR, "Trump Caught On Tape Making Lewd Remarks About Women In 2005," October 8, 2016: https://www.npr.org/2016/10/08/497164654/trump-caught-on-tape-making-lewd-remarks-about-women-in-2005
7. The Washington Post, "Former 'Apprentice' contestant Summer Zervos ends defamation lawsuit against Trump," November 12, 2021: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/summer-zervos-trump-lawsuit--dropped/2021/11/12/23a664a0-43fa-11ec-9ea7-3eb2406a2e24_story.html
Counterarguments and Context
Trump denied all accusations and characterized them uniformly as fabrications. At the October 9, 2016 debate, he stated that the women's accounts were "false" and that he had "great respect for women." His campaign suggested that the timing of the accusations, coming shortly after the Access Hollywood tape's release, indicated political coordination. Trump's lawyers sent letters warning of potential defamation suits against accusers and outlets, though no such suits were filed against the women themselves.
The Zervos lawsuit was withdrawn without a finding on the merits. The voluntary dismissal with prejudice means the claim cannot be refiled, but it is not a ruling that Trump's denials were truthful. Zervos's counsel stated explicitly that she accepted no compensation and stood by her allegations.
No criminal charges have been filed in connection with any of the more than twenty allegations. The Carroll verdict (see INDIV-001) is the only allegation that has been adjudicated in a court of law; it resulted in a finding of civil liability for sexual abuse. Corroboration for several other accusers exists in the form of contemporaneous statements made to friends, family members, or colleagues, as documented in the Stoynoff account by People magazine.
Author's Note
This entry covers the Access Hollywood tape and the broader pattern of allegations separate from the Carroll matter. The Tier 3 classification reflects that the pattern is extensively documented and corroborated across multiple accusers and outlets, but that the underlying allegations (aside from Carroll) have not been adjudicated in court. The Zervos lawsuit's withdrawal without compensation does not constitute exoneration. Cross-reference INDIV-001 for the one allegation that has been fully litigated and resulted in a civil finding of liability.