In her first on-camera interview, former Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Stacey Williams is alleging that former President Donald Trump groped her in the 1990s in what she believes was an attempt to show off for Jeffrey Epstein.
Williams, now 56, says the incident occurred outside Trump’s office in Trump Tower in the early 1990s when she was in her 20s and briefly dating Epstein. According to Williams, she and Epstein were walking together on Fifth Avenue in New York City in 1993 when Epstein brought her to Trump Tower to see Trump.
“The second he was in front of me, he pulled me into him, and his hands were just on me and didn’t come off,” Williams said. “And then the hands started moving, and they were on the side of my breasts, on my hips, back down to my buttocks, back up, you know—they were just on me the whole time,” Williams said.
“I believe I was likely attempting to smile and engage in the same manner as in a social setting.” However, she described it as an exhilarating experience. “So, I don’t know if I spoke; I don’t know if I answered questions; I don’t know. It was one of the strangest moments of my life.”
Shortly after the encounter, Williams claimed to have received a postcard from Trump, which a courier had delivered to her modeling agency. The postcard featured a picture of Palm Beach, showcasing his Mar-a-Lago resort. “Stacey, your home away from home. Love, Donald,” the undated postcard read on the back.
The Trump campaign has denied Williams’ allegations, calling them “false” and accusing the Harris campaign of orchestrating the story to distract from “newly unearthed allegations” against Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff. However, seven people have told NBC News that Williams previously shared her account of the incident with them between 2006 and 2022, and her attorney says she passed a polygraph test.
After the encounter at Trump Tower, Williams said she felt a “wave of shame” and “put it in a little box inside of me, turned the key, and locked it.” She saw Epstein one or two more times before breaking things off, realizing, “There was something very dark and disturbing about him.”
Williams is the first person to publicly accuse Trump of misconduct involving Epstein. Despite interviewing dozens of women in Epstein’s orbit, none have previously made such an allegation against the former president.
The former model says she didn’t consider reporting the incident to police at the time due to feelings of shame and self-blame. “I prided myself on being tough and fighting back, but that was the one time I didn’t, and I think that’s honestly why I locked that and buried it more than anything else,” she said.
Williams, a registered Democrat involved in liberal causes, says the upcoming release of a documentary about the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, which briefly referenced the Trump encounter, drove her decision to come forward now. “The idea of that monster returning to the White House is my utmost fear,” she expressed.