Singer Joy Villa, who unironically wore a “Make America Great Again” dress to the 2017 Grammys, says she has filed a sexual assault complaint with police against President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.
Villa said previously in an interview with Politico that Lewandowski hit her twice “really hard” on her rear at a Nov. 28 party in Washington for Trump supporters. The two had not met before, she said.
“It was completely demeaning and shocking,” she told the outlet, adding, “It felt like it was all a big joke to him.”
The party, held to celebrate the president’s first year in office, took place at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, just a few blocks from the White House. Villa said she had posed for a photo with an unenthusiastic Lewandowski when he smacked her once.
She said she warned him against the behavior. “I said, ’Watch it,‴ she told Politico. “Half-joking, I said, ‘I can report you for sexual harassment.’”
She said he replied: “Go ahead, I work in the private sector,” before hitting her again.
Villa, 31, is considering a run for Congress in Florida, a potential bid that has already attracted a tweet of support from Trump.
The singer told the AP she was initially reluctant to go public with her accusation against Lewandowski, 44, for fear of backlash. But she plans to meet with Washington Metropolitan Police Department detectives next week about her complaint, she said.
“I did nothing wrong,” Villa told the AP. “I realized if he’s not going to respond or apologize to me, I think it’s the right thing to do.”
This isn’t the first police complaint against Lewandowski, reportedly known to some former colleagues for verbal abuse and for having a “misogynistic streak.” While serving as Trump’s campaign manager in March 2016, he was charged with misdemeanor battery following an incident in which he allegedly grabbed former Breitbart News reporter Michelle Fields. The charge was later dropped.
Although Trump fired him in June 2016, Lewandowski remains close to him. A book about the campaign, Let Trump Be Trump, co-written by Lewandoswki and top aide David Bossie, was released earlier this month and gained attention for its tidbits on Trump’s eccentricities during his run for the Oval Office.