NYT Report: ‘Chubby’ Comment At Gillibrand Was Made By Late Sen. Inouye

United States Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (Democrat of New York) asks questions of U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin E. Dempsey, U.S. Army, as they deliver testim... United States Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (Democrat of New York) asks questions of U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin E. Dempsey, U.S. Army, as they deliver testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services on the U.S. policy towards Iraq and Syria and the threat posed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) Hagel and Dempsey Testify on ISIL, Washington D.C, America - 16 Sep 2014 (Rex Features via AP Images) MORE LESS
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The senator who squeezed Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s (D-NY) waist and said “Don’t lose too much weight now. I like my girls chubby!” was the late Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI), according to a report in The New York Times on Monday.

The comment at Gillibrand was relayed by the senator in her new book “Off The Sidelines.” She also described several stories of colleagues calling her “fat” and “porky” in difference instances.

Inouye was first elected to the Senate in 1962. When he died at age 88 in 2012, Inouye was the second-longest serving senator in American history. The first Japanese-American to serve in both the House and the Senate, Inouye lost his right arm while fighting in Europe during World War II and was a medal of honor recipient.

The New York Times report cited “people with knowledge of the incident” in reporting that the senator was Inouye. A Gillibrand spokesman did not confirm or deny that Inouye was the senator who made the comment.

The Times did note that Gillibrand in her book described Inouye as “one of my favorite older members of the Senate.”

The Times also noted that in 1992 Inouye’s hairdresser accused him of forcing her to have sex with him.

This post has been updated.

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