Donald Trump’s Labor Secretary nominee Andrew Puzder is in hot water.
The Oprah Winfrey Network has turned over a 27-year-old video ahead of Puzder’s confirmation hearing, according to Politico. In the video, Puzder’s ex-wife Lisa Fierstein alleges he physically abused her in the 1980s. Fierstein made these allegations as an anonymous victim of domestic violence in a March 1990 episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show, called “High-Class Battered Women.”
The tape has reportedly been turned over to senators to review prior to Puzder’s confirmation hearing currently set for Thursday.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), a Democrat who will vote on Puzder’s nomination, told Politico she was “deeply troubled” by the Oprah episode.
This news comes after Politico obtained a 1988 petition last month in which Fierstein claiming Puzder “assaulted and battered [her] by striking her violently about the face, chest, back, shoulders, and neck, without provocation or cause.”
Domestic abuse allegations began to surface during the couple’s public divorce. In November, however, Fierstein retracted her allegations. She emailed Puzder, saying, “I regretted and still regret that decision and I withdrew those allegations over thirty years ago. You were not abusive. I will most definitely confirm to anyone who may ask that in no way was there abuse.”
As Coins2Day previously reported, Puzder has not had the best track record with women.
In 2011, the fast food executive said, “We believe in putting hot models in our commercials, because ugly ones don’t sell burgers.” When Puzder worked as a lawyer, Mother Jones reported that he wrote a Missouri law that restricted women’s access to abortion.