These Are the Women Who Have Accused President Trump of Sexual Misconduct

14 minute read
Updated: | Originally published: ;

Writer E. Jean Carroll says Donald Trump assaulted her in a dressing room in the late 1990s, making her at least the 19th woman to allege sexual misconduct by the president.

In a cover story for New York magazine, Carroll, the author of five books known for her advice column in Elle, detailed violent encounters with six men, including Trump and former CBS chairman Les Moonves. The article includes a photo that appears to show Trump and Carroll together with their then-spouses at an NBC party in 1987.

In a statement, Trump said “there is zero evidence” for the accusation, adding that he’s “never met” Carroll.

The allegation was the latest — and most serious — accusation against Trump of sexual misconduct in the past. Since he launched his campaign, other women have come forward to say that Trump came into women’s dressing rooms, kissed them without consent and groped them.

While dozens of other men have lost or left their jobs over alleged sexual misconduct in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, including Democratic Sen. Al Franken and Rep. John Conyers, some of Trump’s accusers have said that they’re frustrated their allegations haven’t had the same effect on the President.

These are the women who have accused Trump of sexual misconduct on the record, in chronological order from when their accusations surfaced.

1. Jill Harth

Years of alleged incidents: 1992-1993

Allegations: Harth, a makeup artist, filed a lawsuit in 1997 that claimed Trump repeatedly made unwanted sexual advances toward her. She told The Guardian in a July 20, 2016 article that he groped her under a table at a dinner with beauty pageant contestants in 1992. In January 1993, she told The Guardian, he “pushed me up against the wall, and had his hands all over me and tried to get up my dress again” in one of his children’s rooms at Mar-a-Lago.

Harth dropped her lawsuit weeks later after her then-romantic partner George Houraney settled a separate business lawsuit with Trump.

Trump’s response: Trump has denied the allegation. Michael Cohen, then-special counsel to Trump, told The Guardian at the time: “It is disheartening that one has to dignify a response to the below absurd query. Mr Trump denies each and every statement made by Ms. Harth as these 24-year-old allegations lack any merit or veracity.”

2. Bridget Sullivan

Year of alleged incident: 2000

Allegations: Sullivan, a former Miss New Hampshire and runner-up for Miss USA 2000, told BuzzFeed News for a May 18, 2016 story that Trump would hug “you just a little low on your back” and that he once walked through dressing rooms while many contestants were undressed.

Trump’s response: Trump spokesperson Hope Hicks told BuzzFeed News at the time that the stories mentioned in the article are “totally false.”

3. Cassandra Searles

Caasandra Searles at the 2013 Miss USA Pageant in Las Vegas. (Michael Stewart)(Michael Stewart)

Year of alleged incident: 2013

Allegations: Searles, Miss Washington 2013, wrote in a June 2016 Facebook post: “Do y’all remember that one time we had to do our on stage introductions, but this one guy treated us like cattle and made us do it again because we didn’t look him in the eyes? Do you also remember when he then proceeded to have us lined up so he could get a closer look at his property? Oh I forgot to mention that guy will be in the running to become the next President of the United States. I love the idea of having a misogynist as the President.”

She added in a comment, according to Rolling Stone: “He probably doesn’t want me telling the story about that time he continually grabbed my ass and invited me to his hotel room.”

Trump’s response: Trump has denied all allegations, but hasn’t commented on the specifics of Searles’ accusation.

4. Tasha Dixon

The House of Flaunt Oscar Retreat - Day 3
Tasha Dixon at Manuel at The House Of Flaunt Designer Retreat Day (Michael Bezjian)Michael Bezjian)

Year of alleged incident: 2001

Allegations: Another Trump accuser, Dixon, a former Miss Arizona, told a Los Angeles CBS affiliate for an Oct. 11, 2016 story that Trump came into the dressing room at the 2001 Miss USA pageant while the women were “half naked changing in our bikinis. … There was no second to put a robe on or any sort of clothing or anything.” Dixon was 18 at the time.

In a 2005 interview with Howard Stern, unearthed by CNN during the campaign, Trump said that he went backstage during his pageants. “I’ll go backstage and everyone’s getting dressed, and everything else, and you know, no men are anywhere, and I’m allowed to go in because I’m the owner of the pageant and therefore I’m inspecting it,” Trump told Stern. “You know, I’m inspecting because I want to make sure that everything is good.”

Trump’s response: At the time, the campaign said in a statement to the Washington Post: “These accusations have no merit and have already been disproven by many other individuals who were present. When you see questionable attacks like this magically put out there in the final month of a presidential campaign, you have to ask yourself what the political motivations are and why the media is pushing it.”

5. Jessica Leeds

Women Accusing Trump Of Sexual Harassment Hold Press Conference In NYC
Jessica Leeds speaks during a press conference on Dec. 11, 2017. (Monica Schipper)Monica Schipper)

Year of alleged incident: Early 1980s

Allegations: Leeds told the New York Times in an Oct. 12, 2016 story that Trump grabbed her breasts and tried to put his hand up her skirt when she sat next to him in first class on an airplane. “His hands were everywhere,” she said. Leeds told Megyn Kelly on Dec. 11, 2017 that she encountered Trump three years later at a charity gala in Manhattan, where he called her a “c–t.”

Trump’s response: At an October 2016 rally, Trump said of Leeds: “When you looked at that horrible woman last night, you said ‘I don’t think so. … I don’t think so.’ Whoever she is, wherever she comes from, the stories are total fiction. They are 100 percent made up. They never happened. They never would happen. I don’t think it happened with very many people, but they certainly aren’t gonna happen with me.”

6. Rachel Crooks

Women Accusing Trump Of Sexual Harassment Hold Press Conference In NYC
Rachel Crooks speaks during the press conference on Dec. 11, 2017. (Monica Schipper)Monica Schipper)

Year of alleged incident: 2005

Allegations: Trump accuser Crooks told the New York Times in an Oct. 12, 2016 story that Trump kissed her without her consent while she was working as a receptionist for the Bayrock Group, which had an office inside Trump Tower. Crooks, who was 22 at the time, said that she encountered Trump outside an elevator, where she introduced herself. She said he began kissing her cheeks and then kissed her on the mouth. “It was so inappropriate,” Crooks told the Times.

Response: Trump told the Times: “None of this ever took place.”

7. Mindy McGillivray

Year of alleged incident: 2003

Allegations: McGillivray told the Palm Beach Post in an Oct. 12, 2016 story that Trump groped her behind at Mar-a-Lago. She was 23 at the time. She said that he had flirted with her at his Florida estate two years earlier.

Trump’s response: Trump has denied all of the allegations against him, but hasn’t addressed McGillivray’s specific claims.

8. Natasha Stoynoff

Natasha Stoynoff
Journalist Natasha Stoynoff poses at the Simon & Schuster offices in downtown Toronto, Jan. 18, 2017.Andrew Francis Wallace—Toronto Star/Getty Images

Year of alleged incident: 2005

Allegations: Stoynoff, a former writer for People, which is owned by TIME’s parent company Time Inc., wrote an essay for People published Oct. 12, 2016 that alleged Trump “forc[ed] his tongue down my throat” during an interview at Mar-a-Lago. “You know we’re going to have an affair, don’t you?” Stoynoff said Trump told her at a time.

On Dec. 12, after Trump claimed he hadn’t met his accusers, People published a photo of Stoynoff with Trump and his wife Melania from the 2005 interview in Mar-a-Lago.

Trump’s response: At an October 2016 rally, Trump said: “She’s a liar. She is a liar… She’s writing a story — check out her Facebook page, you’ll understand.”

9. Mariah Billado

Year of alleged incident: 1997

Allegations: Billado, the 1997 Miss Vermont Teen USA, told BuzzFeed News for an Oct. 12, 2016 story that Trump walked into the dressing room while contestants were changing. She claimed that Trump said: “Don’t worry, ladies, I’ve seen it all before.”

Trump’s response: Trump has denied all allegations of sexual misconduct, but BuzzFeed News said Trump did not respond to Billado’s specific allegations.

10. Temple Taggart McDowell

Year of alleged incident: 1997

Allegations: Taggart McDowell told NBC News in an Oct. 13, 2016 story that Trump kissed her on the lips twice while she was representing Utah in the 1997 Miss USA pageant. She was 21 at the time. She said that a pageant chaperone witnessed the second alleged encounter and that it made her so uncomfortable that she advised Taggart McDowell not to be alone with Trump again.

Trump’s response: Trump told NBC News: “I don’t even know who she is. … She claims this took place in a public area. I never kissed her. I emphatically deny this ridiculous claim.”

11. Lisa Boyne

Year of alleged incident: Mid-1990s

Allegation: Boyne told HuffPost on Oct. 13. 2016 that at a dinner with Trump in the 1990s, women were only allowed to leave if they walked across the table. Boyne said Trump looked up the women’s skirts and commented on whether they were wearing underwear.

Trump’s response: Trump spokesperson Hope Hicks told HuffPost at the time: “Mr. Trump never heard of this woman and would never do that.”

12. Summer Zervos

Gloria Allred Holds Press Conference With Donald Trump Accuser
Summer Zervos attends a press conference on Jan. 17, 2017. (David McNew)David McNew)

Year of alleged incident: 2007

Allegations: Zervos, a former contestant on The Apprentice, said at a press conference on Oct. 14 that Trump kissed her without her consent at his office in New York after she reached out to him for business advice. She said that he later groped her and kissed her “very aggressively” before a dinner in Beverly Hills.

In January, Zervos filed a lawsuit against Trump alleging that he defamed her when he said she fabricated her account.

Trump’s response: In a statement, Trump said: “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.”

13. Kristin Anderson

Year of alleged incident: Early 1990s

Allegations: In an interview with The Washington Post for an Oct. 14, 2016 story, Anderson said Trump put his hand up her skirt and touched her vagina at a Manhattan nightclub when she was in her early 20s.

Trump’s response: Trump’s spokesperson Hope Hicks told the Post at the time: “Mr. Trump strongly denies this phony allegation by someone looking to get some free publicity. It is totally ridiculous.”

14. Samantha Holvey

Women Accusing Trump Of Sexual Harassment Hold Press Conference In NYC
Samantha Holvey speaks during the press conference on Dec. 11, 2017. (Monica Schipper)Monica Schipper)

Year of alleged incident: 2006

Allegations: Holvey, the 2006 Miss North Carolina, told CNN on Oct. 14, 2016 that Trump personally inspected each of the Miss USA contestants in the month before the event. She was 20 at the time. “He would step in front of each girl and look you over from head to toe like we were just meat, we were just sexual objects, that we were not people,” Holvey said. “You know when a gross guy at the bar is checking you out? It’s that feeling.”

Trump’s response: Trump denied all allegations against him, but didn’t address Holvey’s specific claims during the campaign. When Holvey appeared on Megyn Kelly Today on Dec. 11, 2017 with Leeds and Crooks, the White House said in a statement: “These false claims, totally disputed in most cases by eyewitness accounts, were addressed at length during last year’s campaign, and the American people voiced their judgement by delivering a decisive victory. The timing and absurdity of these false claims speaks volumes and the publicity tour that has begun only further confirms the political motives behind them.”

15. Cathy Heller

Year of alleged incident: 1997

Allegations: Heller told The Guardian in an Oct. 16, 2016 story that Trump grabbed her and kissed her on the side of her mouth at a Mother’s Day brunch at his Mar-a-Lago estate. She said he became angry when she rejected his advances. “Oh, come on,” Heller said Trump responded.

Trump’s response: Jason Miller, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, told The Guardian at the time: “There is no way that something like this would have happened in a public place on Mother’s Day at Mr. Trump’s resort. … It would have been the talk of Palm Beach for the past two decades.”

16. Karena Virginia

Usa New York Woman Accuses Trump - Oct 2016
Karena Virginia at a press conference in New York on Oct. 20, 2016. (Justin Lane)Justin Lane)

Year of alleged incident: 1998

Allegations: The yoga instructor said at an Oct. 20, 2016 press conference with her lawyer Gloria Allred that Trump touched her breast while she was waiting for a car service outside the U.S. Open. When she flinched, she said Trump told her: “Don’t you know who I am? Don’t you know who I am?”

She said that when she encountered him again years later, he looked her up and down.

Trump’s response: The Trump campaign said in a statement: “Discredited political operative Gloria Allred, in another coordinated, publicity seeking attack with the Clinton campaign, will stop at nothing to smear Mr. Trump. Give me a break. Voters are tired of these circus-like antics and reject these fictional stories and the clear efforts to benefit Hillary Clinton.”

17. Jessica Drake

Usa Trump Accuser Presser - Oct 2016
Jessica Drake reads a statement on Oct. 22, 2016. (Mike Nelson)Mike Nelson)

Year of alleged incident: 2006

Allegations: At a press conference on Oct. 22, 2016, Drake, an adult film star, said she met Trump at a charity golf tournament. She said he invited her to his hotel room. She said she brought two women to accompany her, and claimed that Trump hugged and kissed the three women without their permission once they arrived. She said that she left about 30 minutes later, but Trump later called asking her to come back alone. When she declined, Drake said Trump told her: “What do you want? How much?” She said he offered her $10,000 and use of his private plane and produced a photo taken of the two of them.

Response: A Trump spokesperson told CNN: “This story is totally false and ridiculous. The picture is one of thousands taken out of respect for people asking to have their picture taken with Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump does not know this person, does not remember this person and would have no interest in ever knowing her. This is just another attempt by the Clinton campaign to defame a candidate who just today is number one in three different polls. Anyone who would pay thugs to incite violence at a rally against American citizens, as was released on video, will stop at nothing. Just another example of the Clinton campaign trying to rig the election.”

During a New Hampshire radio interview, Trump said of his accusers: “These are stories that are made up, these are total fiction.” He added: “One said, ‘He grabbed me on the arm.’ And she’s a porn star. You know, this one that came out recently, ‘He grabbed me and he grabbed me on the arm.’ Oh, I’m sure she’s never been grabbed before.”

18. Ninni Laaksonen

Year of alleged incident: 2006

Allegations: Laaksonen, a former Miss Finland, told the Ilta-Sanomat newspaper for an Oct. 27, 2016 story that Trump grabbed her butt before she appeared on “Late Show With David Letterman” with other Miss Universe contestants. “I don’t think anybody saw it but I flinched and thought: ‘What is happening?’” she said. “It left me disgusted.”

Trump’s response: Trump has denied all allegations of sexual misconduct, but hasn’t addressed Laaksonen’s specific claims.

19. E. Jean Carroll

Elle Magazine Party - September 20, 2006
E. Jean Carroll during Elle Magazine Party - September 20, 2006 at 137 West 26th. St in New York City, New York, United States.Johnny Nunez—WireImage

Year of the alleged incident: Late 1995 or early 1996

Allegations: In an excerpt from her new book, What Do We Need Men For? A Modest Proposal, published by New York, Carroll alleged she encountered Trump at Bergdorf Goodman, a high-end women’s designer store. She says he asked for her help to pick something out for “a girl,” and the two joked with each other as she went to a dressing room.

“The moment the dressing-room door is closed, he lunges at me, pushes me against the wall, hitting my head quite badly, and puts his mouth against my lips,” she writes. She added that he then unzipped his pants, “forcing his fingers around my private area” and “thrusts his penis halfway — or completely, I’m not certain — inside me.”

Carroll said she told two close friends, both journalists, about it. New York reports that the two unnamed women confirmed that she told them at the time.

Trump’s response: In a statement, Trump said “there is zero evidence” to support Carroll’s story. “I’ve never met this person in my life,” he said. “She is trying to sell a new book — that should indicate her motivation. It should be sold in the fiction section.”

More Must-Reads From TIME

Write to Samantha Cooney at samantha.cooney@time.com