One week ago, the Washington Post published their first exclusive about Alabama Republican Roy Moore, who is running for Jeff Sessions’ old Senate seat. WaPo’s reporters on the ground heard rumors that Roy Moore “dated” a lot of teenage girls when he was in his 30s, and they got interviews with some of those women now. The youngest girl he “dated” around that time? 14 years old. She says he took off her clothes and made her touch him too. The other girls were 16, 17, 18 and they had similar stories. Moore tried to deny the story by saying that he doesn’t remember dating any girl “without the permission of her mother.” Gross. This week, another woman came forward and accused him of violently assaulting her behind a restaurant when she was just 16.
The New Yorker also learned that Roy Moore’s predilection for young girls likely caused him to be banned at the local mall too, because he was always hanging out in the mall, hitting on teenage girls. Speaking of, the Washington Post has a new story with new victims coming forward. Gena Richardson was a high school senior working at the mall when Roy Moore first approached her and asked her out. She refused. So he called her AT SCHOOL and had her pulled out of her trigonometry class just so he could ask her out again. Her story ended with one begrudging date on her part and Roy Moore “forcing” a kiss on her. Roy Moore’s predatory behavior around young girls at the mall was so well-known that the girls all tried to warn each other about him.
Meanwhile, AL.com has reported two more terrible incidents involving Roy Moore. You can read the complete stories here. One of the stories is about Kelly Harrison Thorp, who was a 17-year-old high school senior in 1982, working at Red Lobster. Roy Moore came to the restarant and asked her out and she was like “dude, I’m 17” and he was like “Yeah. I go out with girls your age all the time.” Here’s part of Tina Johnson’s story:
In interviews with AL.com, Tina Johnson recalls that in the fall of 1991 she sat in the law office of then-attorney Roy Moore on Third Street in Gadsden. Her mother, Mary Katherine Cofield, sat in the chair next to her. Moore sat behind his desk, across from them. Johnson remembers she was wearing a black and white dress. Almost from the moment she walked in to Moore’s office, Johnson said, Moore began flirting with her.
“He kept commenting on my looks, telling me how pretty I was, how nice I looked,” recalled Johnson. “He was saying that my eyes were beautiful.” It made her uncomfortable. “I was thinking, can we hurry up and get out of here?”
Johnson was 28 years old, in a difficult marriage headed toward divorce, and unemployed. She was at the office to sign over custody of her 12-year-old son to her mother, with whom he’d been living. Her mother had hired Moore to handle the custody petition.
Johnson had two young daughters at the time with her then-husband, and her son said he wanted to live with his grandmother. At one point during the meeting, she said, Moore came around the desk and sat on the front of it, just inches from her. He was so close, she said, she could smell his breath. According to Johnson, he asked questions about her young daughters, including what color eyes they had and if they were as pretty as she was. She said that made her feel uncomfortable, too.
Once the papers were signed, she and her mother got up to leave. After her mother walked through the door first, she said, Moore came up behind her. It was at that point, she recalled, he grabbed her buttocks.
“He didn’t pinch it; he grabbed it,” said Johnson. She was so surprised she didn’t say anything. She didn’t tell her mother.
Tina Johnson’s story is the most recent by far, and it’s the only one (so far) in which Roy Moore was already a married man. The part about “he asked questions about her young daughters, including what color eyes they had and if they were as pretty as she was” made me shudder.
Roy Moore is not dropping out of this race yet. He’s digging in his heels, even with his party’s elders calling for him to withdraw. Mitch McConnell has even said repeatedly that he believes the women who have come forward and that Moore needs to drop out. To which Roy Moore tweeted:
Dear Mitch McConnell,
Bring. It. On.
— Judge Roy Moore (@MooreSenate) November 16, 2017
This was the best response, although this Chris Hansen is not the same Chris Hansen who hosted Dateline Predator (I wish it was the same guy).
Bring It On is a movie about high school cheerleaders https://t.co/THLhYwpZSf
— Chris Hansen (@tankcat) November 16, 2017
Photos courtesy of Getty.
Of course he did. And of course the entire Alabama justice/law enforcement looked the other way because privilege. Amazing what white men can get away with. Really it is.
He’s the face and spokesman for conservative Alabama Christians and they just don’t care that in reality he’s a predator, a hypocrite and a despicable monster.
Making them hypocrites too.
The AL Republicans had an emergency meeting yesterday and agreed they will continue to back Moore, so that kind of says it all.
I expected nothing less.
I was just so disgusted when Moore’s lawyers demanded the High School yearbook for examination of his alleged handwriting on it. The victims are going to be put under a microscope and scrutinized deeply. I believe the women who came forward.
Harvey Weinstein tactics. These women are so brave to come forward.
It happens to nearly every victim of child abuse, maybe in particular child abuse that’s sexual in nature, famous and not famous. It’s infuriating. Even “well-meaning” people simply do not want to believe it and this is a big part of how it keeps going.
I am stunned – STUNNED!! – that a man who holds others to ridiculous biblical standards has spent his life behaving like this.
I wonder how many victims have to come forward before he beats the record for sexual harassment/assault set by all the transgender people in all the public bathrooms of all of America?
I wish I were stunned. Those who thump the Bible the loudest are also the ones caught in the bathroom with underaged kids. Inevitably.
@Luna,
@Elike is being sarcastic and making the same point as you. That many overzealous religious people or -phobes usually are hiding something/over-compensating.
My experience is those who shout the loudest have the most to hide. And Roy Moore is becoming deafeningly loud.
MTE. Have seen this more than once in my life. The walk does not match the talk.
Just reading comments online and stories about how these women are being treated by people saying they are lying regarding Moore’s behaviour. One has to ask the question why would anyone want to put themselves or their families through that hell for a made up story?
It is that kind of abuse that causes many victims of sexual harassment or abuse to stay silent. It takes a lot of guts to go public with something like this against a public figure. I believe them
It’s obvious a good part of Alabama knew about this guy, and he is a very popular figure there anyway. I will never go to Alabama I can tell you that. Way to show your ass in front of the whole country guys!
Steve Bannon gave a speech during one of RM’s campaign rallies about how Alabama voters have to vote for him to send a message to all the snobby liberals who think their state is full of “morons” and “rubes”.
Because nothing will change those coastal elite minds quicker than electing a guy who encapsulates every single negative stereotype about their state…
Seriously. I have no words anymore about the ongoing support for Moore. I want to just crawl into a hole for good.
Let’s remember that only a small portion of Americans ever vote. So it’s not fair to group an entire state filled with diverse people based on like 20-30% of them. I mean I’m certain you don’t want to be judged based on Trump being our President. Also remember the GOP has gone out of their way to disenfranchise many minority and progressives voters in the South. If at least 70% of Americans vote, we would not have the clowns currently in local and national government.
In 2015 Gallup rated Alabama (tied with Idaho) as the most conservative state in the US.
There really is no rock bottom left, is there?
His tweet could have come directly from the Oval Office except that it is short and doesn’t contain misspelling or words ending in exclamation points. But this is our world now – this is how grown men in high offices communicate with each other.
And the really gross thing is, it still isn’t enough to disqualify him. People are still cheering him on and supporting him. This nightmare has somehow been framed as him fighting back against those that are targeting him unfairly and dishonestly. He could still win the election quite easily.
Who’s willing to bet this guy is still going to win the vote?
Thanks for the negativism, really appreciate it. Now I can skip tonight’s phonebanking and tomorrow’s 7-8 AM sign holding along one of our busiest roadways. And this weekend’s canvassing. And all the other events we’re doing to elect Doug Jones. It’ll save me a lot of time.
I think Odetta was trying to comment on the somber truth that men like Moore hardly face consequences for these kinds of actions and not undermine the political work you put in.
Thank you, Jerusha. We’ll be sending $ to Doug Jones’ campaign. Keep going!
Jerusha, I can’t wait for you to prove me wrong about a Democrat winning in AL. It will be the silver lining on an otherwise terrible year.
Jerusha, thanks for your very important work in Alabama!
Jerusha. I applaud your fight. Alabama is horrible, I don’t know how you stand it. Come to Boston for repatriation!
Good luck. Jones does have a chance, so keep on.
When the Access Hollywood tape came out, it didn’t really make me examine my support for Bill Clinton, but Roy Moore really has me thinking about that time.
In 1996, I worked for a coalition of 100 progressive women’s organizations, many of which were extremely influential at the time, to register and turnout women of color (although we were nonpartisan, the unspoken goal was to re-elect Clinton). I remember being in meetings with dozens of feminist leaders and not once did they ever discuss the allegations against Clinton, even though everyone suspected they were true, because electing a Democrat was so essential to their missions.
I wonder if the same would be true today. I guess we’ll find out now that a victim is telling her story about being assaulted by Al Franken.
Megan, spot in! I have loathed the Clinton’s ever since the Monica smear campaign. I did vote fornHRC but my heart was with Bernie. Frankenstein has to go!
I agree, I think he is going to win. Prove me wrong Alabama! PLEASE
Ladies(and Gentlemen)! Think positive!! Stop being so defeatist and send positive vibes our way. And send a few dollars to Doug’s campaign.
It’s gotten so bad that the Republican National Party released a fake poll showing Moore losing by double digits. I hate to say it but like Orange Nightmare, Alabama Republicans are going to vote for the sexual predator. Because fake Christianity, pro-birthism, homophobia and sexism trump decency, morals and ethics. No shade meant but even Moore’s victims/survivors voted for Trump in light of sexual misconduct.
Moore’s RCP average is at +3 points, which is actually up a point from a few days ago. The NRSC’s internal poll is just a poke in Bannon’s eye.
Bring it on??????
You f*cking piece of sh!t???????
This a game to him. A game. We as women are nothing but little monopoly pieces in his eyes. Worthless. This breaks my heart more than anything else.
I know, when I saw that tweet my blood boiled.
Flames… on the side of my face…
Yes, he is a POS, a full-on predator with no remorse for what he did to those girls. Women and girls are less than game pieces to him; they’re just pieces of meat with no feelings or agency over their own lives. He would fit right in with the sadistic, psychopathic slave owners of Alabama’s past.
+1000
He called her at school??? I can’t, it’s too sick…………..I’m so glad I donated to Doug Jones yesterday.
The continuing mall stories have not surprised me. From the first one, I could picture this guy (full of himself and his title) walking around the mall, talking to girls who work at various shops. They probably had to be pleasant due to being on the job. But the high school office phone call does put this up to another level of creepy. He was really pushing the envelope.
He knows if he drops out, people will say because it’s because he did those things. He keeps in the race, some will be convinced he must be innocent. Gross
he won’t drop out b/c america sealed its fate last november. we are the country that doesn’t care about women and sexual predators being in office!
Just goes to show no matter who you are you can’t treat people any way you like and get away with it. Good for her.
Internal Republican polling was released that has him trailing 51- 39. He’s dropped something like 28 points since this whole thing started… these maybe skewed numbers, and Doug Jones shouldn’t be complacent, but it seems even Alabama has a tipping point. People could ignore or rationalize 1 or 2 awful stories, but I think they are coming around to the fact that this guy is a straight up predator, and unfit for office.
The fact that the internal numbers from Repub pollsters are being leaked is interesting. Someone wants this perv gone, but something awful.
That a god bothering blowhard is, behind closed doors, a serial abuser no longer surprises me. People that spend that much time bloviating about other people’s sex lives are often worried you’ll find out about theirs. They obsess, and think it is normal. It’s like a tell.
It is a tell, isn’t it. That’s why so many of these Puritanical fanatics are found out to be indecent people in the end.
I don’t trust polls. Thinking Jones has the lead may keep some voters home that might have voted Dem, or galvanize Moore’s base. Remember the polls showing HC way ahead last year?
Has it really only been a week?
Only 3 days, Toots, and I love your name. Ready for the holidays?
I really thought that Roy Moore Twitter account was a parody account. 🙁
Anyone wanting to help:
http://docs.google.com/document/d/1svwO5-xHp_JieZSRecZ3PuoLjkt25Cf-6gKLkBS8BLc/mobilebasic
http://twitter.com/liftrs/status/930859759875608577
http://twitter.com/wyatt_privilege/status/930859191551643651
The director of the film, Payton Reed, had a few words for Geriatric Predator on Twitter as well.
Moore’s supporters have got so many conspiracy theories going on about these women and their stories it makes my brain hurt. I have seen everything from the questioning the ink on the yearbook, to why did she have a yearbook in December, to “she said he locked the door and she couldn’t get out, there were no child-proof locks in 1977!”
Partisan politics has made them lose their damn minds.
I don’t think they ‘lost their minds.’ This is how they have always been. We just didn’t see it this obviously. Before social media especially, you migh talk to your neighbor about the weather. You didn’t see their comments on political events 24/7.
Has anyone seen moores meathead lawyer on cnn with Ali velshi…he suggested since Ali is of Indian descent he should understand why Moore would need a mothers permission to date their daughter. It was downright bizarre
Racist AS HELL!!! the way he dipped his head down he knew he was being racist too!
He tried to belittle Don Lemon as well. I posted a link yesterday to his business website. You’ve got to read his bio and CV. It’ll explain everything wrong with him (i.e., dumb af)
As I said yesterday-shitty client, shitty lawyer. He tried to push the fake robocall as real.
Can we just bring back public stocks in the town square for scum like him?
He deliberately targeted vulnerable women, it seems. disgusting piece of sh!t
Roy Moore seems to think that he can get away with what he did to those girls because the Dotard has never had to be accountable for his harassment and groping.
He is a horrible disgusting person. What really gets me is I lived in Etowah County when I was 14 so to think that could have happened to me or my sister’s or my cousins is enough to make me glad we moved back up north.
He needs to rot in jail, what a disgusting piece of s*t. He isn’t even sorry – or faking it..