Apprentice employees toldThe Daily Beast that Donald Trump laughed off an Apprentice employee’s allegations that Gary Busey sexually assaulted her on the show. He also didn’t fire Busey after the allegations, which backed up by other employees. Trump’s reported behavior is unsurprising when you realize he suggested women who have accused him of sexual assault were too ugly to be assaulted.
Five Apprentice employees, including the woman allegedly assaulted by Busey, spoke to The Daily Beast while asking to remain anonymous so as to not violate a non-disclosure agreement. The alleged victim said that during the 2011 season of Celebrity Apprentice, Busey grabbed her “firmly between the legs” and grabbed her breasts before taking her hand and putting it over his penis. The assault ended after a friend of the woman’s intervened.
According to the woman, the assault happened in New York City's SoHo neighborhood, during a challenge in which contestants needed to sell art at a gallery. She recalled the incident:
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Staff grew so furious about the incident, wanting Busey kicked off the show, that eventually producers and higher ups were informed. When Trump got wind of the allegation, he reportedly laughed and gave Busey a “slap on the wrist.” One Apprentice employee said Trump brought up the allegation to Busey in the boardroom (where contestants met at the end of the day to have their fate decided on the show) and only told him, “Keep your hands to yourself.” The employee also recalled Trump joking around with Busey and saying, “Gary, did you do a bad thing…[and] got your hands where they’re not supposed to be.” Another Apprentice employee said he remembered Trump calling Busey a “bad boy, a very bad boy.”
The woman allegedly assaulted said she didn’t do anything else regarding the incident because she worried about finding future employment. She alleged Trump said “gross things all the time” and called Trump Tower a “disgusting place to work” because of the sexual harassment. When asked about the sexual assault allegations that have come out against Trump, she said she wasn’t surprised. “[Trump] is and always has been a joke—I can’t believe anyone now is taking him seriously,” she said. “He’s a monster.”
The alleged Busey assault happened in the same season in which Celebrity Apprentice staffers recently disclosed to The Daily Beast that Trump repeatedly called another contestant in that season, Lil Jon, an Uncle Tom despite being told it’s a racial slur.
