Trump's lewd 'Access Hollywood' tape commemorated

 

LOS ANGELES: A plaque briefly marked the spot where Donald Trump was recorded bragging about groping women on the now infamous Access Hollywood video that threatened to derail his 2016 presidential campaign.

The satirical memorial plate was put up by pranksters in the parking lot of NBC's studio in Burbank, California, at the exact spot where Trump made the lewd comments to celebrity interviewer Billy Bush.

"On this spot, in September 2005, Donald J. Trump bragged about committing sexual assault," the plaque read.

"In November 2016, he was elected President of the United States."

Legends of Tomorrow visual effects editor Seth Gottlieb wrote on Facebook that the producers of his show were responsible for the stunt, which he said was "in dishonor of our President".

Gottlieb's message — which includes a picture of the plaque — was posted last week but only attracted significant attention on Friday, when it was shared widely on social media.

Phil Klemmer — the show's executive producer — said on Twitter that the plaque lasted about 15 minutes before studio workers took it down.

Associated with NBC show Access Hollywood at that time, Bush is seen on the video bantering with Trump — then the billionaire host of the hit reality show The Apprentice — when the conversation turns to women.

Trump brags to Bush that he could grab women's genitals and get away with it simply because he was famous.

"I don't even wait. And when you're a star, they let you do it, you can do anything," he says.

The videotape was leaked to the Washington Post in October 2016, at the height of the US presidential election campaign.

Trump — who dismissed his comments as "locker room banter" — issued an apology in a brief video clip.

On the anniversary of the video's release, women's rights group UltraViolet played the video on a loop for 12 hours near the White House earlier this month.