Washington (CNN)A
former Nevada state assemblywoman on Friday said former Vice President
Joe Biden made her feel "uneasy, gross, and confused" in 2014 at a
campaign event where she says he kissed her on the back of her head.
Lucy Flores wrote about her allegations in an essay for The Cut,
an arm of New York magazine, in which she said the encounter with Biden
occurred during a November 2014 campaign event when she was the
Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor of the state. The piece
includes a photo of Biden and Flores, along with actress Eva Longoria,
before the encounter Flores alleges took place.
"I
felt him get closer to me from behind. He leaned further in and inhaled
my hair. I was mortified," Flores wrote, adding that she wondered why
the then-vice president had come that close to her. "He proceeded to
plant a big slow kiss on the back of my head. My brain couldn't process
what was happening. I was embarrassed. I was shocked. I was confused."
Flores continued: "I couldn't move, and I couldn't say anything. I wanted nothing more than to get Biden away from me."
This account comes as Biden is considering a bid for president in 2020.
In
a statement to CNN responding to Flores' allegation, Bill Russo, a
Biden spokesman, said, "Vice President Biden was pleased to support Lucy
Flores's candidacy for Lieutenant Governor of Nevada in 2014 and to
speak on her behalf at a well-attended public event. Neither then, nor
in the years since, did he or the staff with him at the time have an
inkling that Ms. Flores had been at any time uncomfortable, nor do they
recall what she describes.
"But
Vice President Biden believes that Ms. Flores has every right to share
her own recollection and reflections, and that it is a change for better
in our society that she has the opportunity to do so. He respects Ms.
Flores as a strong and independent voice in our politics and wishes her
only the best."
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