Arnold Schwarzenegger has faced questions about his treatment of
women during his career as a bodybuilder and Hollywood star. Some
stem from statements he made, while others are based on allegations
from women who worked or had come into contact with Schwarzenegger.
Schwarzenegger acknowledged Thursday that he had ``behaved
badly'' to women in the past. He apologized for offending people
and promised to champion women's rights.
The incidents include:
A 1977 interview published in Oui, a skin magazine, in which
Schwarzenegger bragged about engaging in group sex with other
bodybuilders at Gold's Gym in Venice, Calif.
``There was a black girl who came out naked,'' Schwarzenegger
told the magazine. ``Everyone jumped on her and took her upstairs,
where we all got together.''
During the same interview, he also spoke of receiving oral sex
from women backstage before the 1972 Mr. Olympia contest: ``I went
out there feeling like King Kong.''
Questioned about the article during the campaign, Schwarzenegger
at first said he didn't remember the interview, and later said he
had deliberately made ``outrageous'' statements to promote
bodybuilding.
In a 1988 interview with Playboy Magazine, Schwarzenegger said,
``I hate pants. This is something I have inherited from my father.
He despised pants, and my mother was never allowed to wear them at
home. We're talking about a different time period now, when the man
was much more the ruler of the house. But I still feel that way,
and neither my mother nor Maria (Shriver, Schwarzenegger's wife) is
allowed to go out with me in pants.''
A 2001 article in Premiere Magazine titled ``Arnold the
Barbarian'' depicted Schwarzenegger as a crude sexual predator who
harassed and groped women on the set of his many hit films. The
article quoted a female film crew member alleging he had pulled her
breasts out of her blouse during the filming of ``Terminator 2:
Judgment Day'' in 1990, and another saying he had fondled the
breasts of his co-star, Linda Hamilton, during a limosine ride in
front of several witnesses, including Hamilton's then-boyfriend,
director James Cameron.
After the article was published, Hamilton and several other
colleagues came to Schwarzenegger's defense, saying the allegations
were untrue.
In July 2003, Schwarzenegger told Esquire Magazine, ``As much
as when you see a blonde with great tits and a great ass, you say
to yourself, 'Hey, she must be stupid or must have nothing else to
offer,' which maybe is the case many times. But then again, there
is the one that is as smart as her breasts look, great as her face
looks, beautiful as her whole body looks gorgeous, you know, so
people are shocked.''
Also in July 2003, Schwarzenegger described a scene in his new
movie, ``Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,'' to Entertainment
Weekly.
``I saw this toilet bowl. How many time do you get away with
this to take a woman, grab her upside down, and bury her face in
a toilet bowl? I wanted to have something floating there.``'
When questioned about the comment, Schwarzenegger said he had
been talking about a female robot, not a real woman.
In an August 2003 article titled ``The Groping Governor'' in
the Daily Mail in England, two female journalists alleged
Schwarzenegger fondled and groped them during a trip to London in
2000. Television host Anna Richardson claimed he asked her if her
breasts were real, and then pulled her onto his knee, circled her
nipple with his finger, squeezed it and announced, ``Yeah, they are
real.'' Reporter Denise Van Outen said he slapped her bottom, then
brushed his arm against her breast.
During a Sept. 24, 2003 recall debate, Schwarzenegger told
independent candidate Arianna Huffington that he had a role for her
in ``Terminator 4,'' which was interpreted as a reference to the
toilet bowl comment in the Entertainment Weekly interview. An angry
Huffington said Schwarzenegger's comments were part of a pattern of
mistreating women.
The next day, Schwarzenegger said he meant the comment as a
compliment because the Terminator movies featured strong female
characters.
On Thursday, the Los Angeles Times reported that six women
accused Schwarzenegger of harassing and groping them in separate
incidents between 1975 and 2000. Their allegations included British
television host Richardson saying her breast was grabbed, another
woman's claim that Schwarzenegger reached under her T-shirt in 1975
at Gold's Gym, and a waitress who alleged he asked her to ``go into
the bathroom, stick your finger in your (vagina), and bring it out
to me.''
Two crew members who worked with Schwarzenegger on ``Terminator
2: Judgment Day'' were also interviewed by the Times. One alleged
the actor groped her at least three times in an elevator at the
hotel where the cast and crew were staying, while the other said
Schwarzenegger pulled her onto his lap and whispered vulgarities as
other men watched.
Since the Times article, two more women have gone public.
Colette Brooks, 45, said she encountered Schwarzenegger when she
was an intern for television network and was escorting him to a
sound stage 25 years ago. ``I was ahead of him and he said to me
'nice ass,''' Brooks said. ``He then proceeded to put his hand in
that area of my anatomy.'' Brooks said she was ``mortified'' but
didn't complain for fear of losing her job.
Gail Escobar, 41, told The Associated Press Thursday night
that Schwarzenegger threatened to rape her in 1978, when she was
16. She said she and a friend were taken by another bodybuilder
from a Santa Monica coffee shop into a parking garage where
Schwarzenegger said ``We're going to rape you girls tonight.''
``I couldn't get away. Finally his friends released me. I was
scared to death,'' said Escobar, explaining that she didn't go
public earlier because she didn't think people would be interested
in her story.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)