A journalist for The Root accused Rev. Jesse Jackson of sexual harassment after he allegedly grabbed her thigh at an event and said, “I like all of that right there!”
Danielle Young, who works as a writer and producer for The Root, published a 2,000-word piece Monday alleging that Jackson inappropriately touched her as they took a photo together at an event where Jackson served as the keynote speaker three years ago.
“I walked toward Jackson, smiling, and he smiled back at me,” Young wrote. “His eyes scanned my entire body. All of a sudden, I felt naked in my sweater and jeans. As I walked within arm’s reach of him, Jackson reached out a hand and grabbed my thigh, saying, ‘I like all of that right there!’ and gave my thigh a tight squeeze.”
Young said the alleged incident left her “shocked,” adding that she laughed off the incident even though it made her uncomfortable.
“And I continued to giggle as he pulled me in closer, stared down at my body, smiled and told me he was only kidding,” Young continued. “The entire time, my co-worker snapped photos.”
A representative for Jackson released a statement apologizing for the alleged incident.
“Although Rev. Jackson does not recall the meeting three years ago, he profoundly and sincerely regrets any pain Ms. Young may have experienced,” the representative said.
Young is the second person to accuse Jackson of sexual harassment. Jackson was also accused of sexual harassment in 2011 when his former employee, Tommy R. Bennett, filed a formal complaint against Jackson’s Rainbow PUSH coalition in Chicago, alleging that his former employer discriminated against him based on his sexual orientation and sexually harassed him.
Bennett claimed that Jackson asked him to rub a prescription cream on his thigh, and when he refused, the reverend got angry with him.
Jackson, who has been a vocal critic of President Trump, told attendees of the Ministers March for Justice rally in Washington, DC, this past September, that Trump “would not qualify to get into Jesus’ kingdom.”