Arianne Zucker, the former “Days of Our Lives” star who appeared in an “Access Hollywood” tape in which Donald Trump made the infamous “grab ’em by the pussy” comment to Billy Bush, says she felt more attacked by the media than the soon-to-be president himself at the time.
Zucker told Rachel Uchitel on the “Miss Understood” podcast she didn’t even realize what Trump and Bush said until she saw the transcripts later, and the media storm that followed just caused her more anguish.
“He made a comment, I guess, about my legs and so did Billy Bush,” Zucker said. “Everybody has spoken poorly about somebody in their lifetime. I don’t care who you are, everybody has, it’s just people get caught on camera doing it. Unfortunately, that happens all the time. And if you’ve ever gone to a fraternity party, the things happen. So [when she later read the taped comments] I’m going, ‘Sounds like something my fraternity guys I know would say.’ But I just didn’t see it in the way that people were seeing it.”
She continued, “I felt attacked by the media because I knew all they wanted. I mean, the biggest thing was to get Trump off the ballot. I was like, that is not my job.”
The video in question came from a 2005 “Access Hollywood” shoot on the set of “Days” where Trump was to shoot a guest appearance. A hot mic conversation with host Bush caught Trump bragging about kissing and groping women.
Though she might not think twice about Trump and Bush’s comments, Zucker did file a sexual harassment lawsuit against former “Days of Our Lives” executive producer Albert Alarr, Ken Corday, and Corday Productions back in February. The suit stated Zucker and other female employees were subjected to tight hugs from Alarr, offensive comments and experienced bullying from the executive. The lawsuit also alleged Alarr enjoyed shooting aggressive sex scenes and threesome scenes.
Zucker – who played Nicole Walker for over 2700 episodes – alleged that her contract on “Days of Our Lives” was not renewed after she spoke out against Alarr. Her last episode on the soap aired December 23.
