--- ---  # George H.W. Bush Apologizes After An Actress Claimed He Touched Her Inappropriately by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Oct 25, 2017 8:50 PM UTC  President George H.W. Bush arrives for the coin toss prior to Super Bowl 51 between the Atlanta Falcons and the New England Patriots at NRG Stadium on February 5, 2017 in Houston, Texas. President George H.W. Bush arrives for the coin toss prior to Super Bowl 51 between the Atlanta Falcons and the New England Patriots at NRG Stadium on February 5, 2017 in Houston, Texas.Patrick Smith—Getty Images by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Oct 25, 2017 8:50 PM UTC Former President [George H.W. Bush](http://time.com/4759687/george-h-w-bush-hospital-released-texas/) has apologized through a spokesperson after an actress said he touched her inappropriately and made a lewd joke during a photo opportunity. In a since-deleted Instagram post, Heather Lind wrote that four years ago, when she met H.W. Bush to promote a historical TV series, “He didn’t shake my hand. He touched me from behind from his wheelchair with his wife Barbara Bush by his side. He told me a dirty joke. And then, all the while being photographed, touched me again.” H.W. Bush spokesperson Jim McGrath wrote in a statement Wednesday that “[President Bush](http://time.com/4657068/george-hw-bush-coin-toss-super-bowl/) would never — under any circumstance — intentionally cause anyone distress, and he most sincerely apologizes if his attempt at humor offended Ms. Lind.” The former [President](http://time.com/4732712/bill-clinton-george-hw-bush/) is 93 years old, uses a wheelchair and suffers from a disease similar to [Parkinson’s](https://www.apnews.com/680fef9f1cb14194baf40f162fb81b5d) and other conditions. H.W. Bush was the 41st U.S. President; his son, George W. Bush, was the 43rd. Lund posted her comments after a photo circulated showing all [five former living presidents](http://time.com/4993154/george-w-bush-barack-obama-laugh-bill-clinton-speech/) on stage together in College Station, Texas, raising money for hurricane recovery efforts. Bush waived a hand to the audience, but he has difficulty speaking and did not make any remarks. George H.W. Bush Apologizes to Actress Who Alleged Touching ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4996794/george-h-w-bush-heather-lind/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4996794/george-h-w-bush-heather-lind/"},"headline":"George H.W. Bush Apologizes After An Actress Claimed He Touched Her Inappropriately","datePublished":"2017-10-25T20:50:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T17:59:47.717Z","description":"\"He touched me from behind from his wheelchair with his wife Barbara Bush by his side\"","url":"https://time.com/4996794/george-h-w-bush-heather-lind/","keywords":["onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f0f9c870c951534/6988e34bbc6cfc424c3e3ae7/george-h-w-bush.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f0f9c870c951534/6988e34bbc6cfc424c3e3ae7/george-h-w-bush.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"George H.W. Bush","caption":"George H.W. Bush","creditText":"Patrick Smith—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4996794/george-h-w-bush-heather-lind/","name":"George H.W. Bush Apologizes After An Actress Claimed He Touched Her Inappropriately"}}]}] ```