 "Doug Emhoff, second gentleman of U.S., gestures while speaking to supporters for his wife, Democratic presidential nominee and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, in The Villages, Florida, US September 13, 2024. Reuters file")
Kamala Harris’ husband Doug Emhoff has denied allegations that he slapped his ex-girlfriend in 2012 for flirting with other men.
Emhoff’s spokesperson in a statement to Semafor said, “This report is untrue,” adding “Any suggestion that he would or ever hit a woman is false.”
A bombshell report by Daily Mail earlier this week put a spotlight on the second gentleman of US and raised eyebrows over his conduct with women.
The report quoted friends of the unidentified woman, purportedly the ex-girlfriend of Emhoff, as saying that he had “slapped her so hard in the face that she spun around” after an event at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.
One of the woman’s friends recalled that she had called him “sobbing” after the assault. He said, “She told me she was with a guy and he hit her. It was very clear what she was telling me. She said she was with a guy, her date, she was at the Cannes Film Festival, and he hit her. She was in the car with the guy at the time.”
The friend said that Harris’ husband may have thought that the woman was flirting with a valet employee after she kept her hand on his shoulder.
The Daily Mail report says that the ex-girlfriend, who was a “successful New York attorney”, slapped Emhoff back, the friend revealed.
The report quickly prompted Republicans to slam Harris who asked her to withdraw from the presidential race on “moral grounds”.