Joy Villa, a singer who wore a “Make America Great Again”-emblazoned dress to the Grammys earlier this year, on Friday accused President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski of slapping her on the butt in November.
Villa said in an interview with Politico that a friend introduced her to Lewandowski at a party at Trump’s Washington, D.C. hotel in late November. According to Villa, the two posed for a picture.
“I’m wearing this silver suit and stretchy pants, and after the photo, he smacks my ass really hard,” Villa told Politico. “It was completely demeaning and shocking.”
Villa said she told Lewandowski to “watch it.”
“Half-joking, I said, ‘I can report you for sexual harassment,’” she said. “He said, ‘Go ahead, I work in the private sector.’”
According to Villa, he then slapped her again.
“Corey laughed in my face and ran away,” she said. “It felt like it was all a big joke to him.”
Here’s the photo of @CLewandowski_ seconds before he slapped my ass, I told him to stop, and then he did it again. I was shocked and embarrassed by his behavior. https://t.co/61EYvOG4e9 pic.twitter.com/a8NgLnvCEZ
— Joy Villa (@Joy_Villa) December 23, 2017
According to the report, Villa did not approach Politico. Another witness described the incident to a reporter, and Villa subsequently agreed to discuss it on the record.
Politico reported that a friend who witnessed Villa’s conversation with Lewandowski corroborated her account, but requested anonymity. Lewandowski did not respond to any of Politico’s requests for comment.
Villa’s misconduct allegations against Lewandowski are not the first a woman has brought against the former campaign manager.
In March 2016, then-Breitbart News reporter Michelle Fields accused Lewandowski of grabbing her arm at a campaign event hard enough to leave bruises. The incident was caught on camera and Lewandowski was charged with simple battery, though the charges were eventually dropped.
