Doug Emhoff, husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, reportedly hit his ex-girlfriend in the face because he thought that she was hitting on another man at a high-profile event more than a decade ago.
Three friends of the woman, a New York lawyer, told the Daily Mail about the alleged attack in 2012 on the condition that neither they nor the woman, who was only identified as âJane,â be named out of fear of retaliation.
The altercation reportedly happened at the May 2012 Cannes Film Festival in France as Emhoff and Jane waited in line for a taxi to take them back to their hotel room.
The two met on an online dating website and had been dating for three months when the incident occurred, the report said. The friends provided the British publication with photos of the two together, travel documents, and emails that they say confirm that the two were in a relationship and attended the event together.
The disturbing incident comes after former Biden-Harris official and current MSNBC host Jen Psaki declared in a recent interview with Emhoff that he had âreshaped the perception of masculinity.â
Psaki made the remarks even though it had been recently revealed that Emhoff impregnated his childrenâs babysitter, which led to the end of his first marriage.
Jen Psaki to Second Gentleperson âDougâ: You have âreshaped the perception of masculinity.â 𤢠pic.twitter.com/Hsd3EIWkZW
â Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) September 29, 2024
Jane received tickets to the star-studded May 24, 2012, event from wealthy friends and decided to take Emhoff as her plus one.
The first person who Jane told about the alleged assault was one of her male friends, who is a top New York businessman, the report said, who got a phone call from her moments after the attack happened.
âIt was hard to hear her because she was sobbing. She told me she was with a guy and he hit her,â he told the publication. âIt was very clear what she was telling me. She said she was with a guy, her date, she was at the Cannes Film Festival, and he hit her. She was in the car with the guy at the time.â
He said he did not know how to respond and wasnât sure if he needed to call the police in France.
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âIt was something like 3am. They were trying to get out of there and they both had been drinking. There was a gigantic line for taxis,â he said, adding that she âwent up to one of the valet guys, offered him 100 Euros or whatever, to get to the head of the line.â
âShe told me she put her hand on his shoulder. Doug apparently thought that she was flirting, and came over and slapped her in the face,â he continued. âShe slapped him back. My impression is that he had a lot to drink. She was sobbing [on the phone afterwards], but she wasnât slurring her words. She told me that she broke up with him that night.â
Jane reportedly told a second friend, who is also a lawyer in New York, about the attack around the time that it happened.
âThey had dinner. She said Doug was very charming, and it was lovely. Then I believe it was between 2-3am, it was still raging, but she was wearing four-inch heels and a floor-length gown, so it was time to depart,â the lawyer said. âShe said thereâd been no fight before he hit her. You would have thought it was this fairytale trip.â
âShe put her hand on the valetâs shoulder, and as she was talking to him, Doug comes up,â she continued. âShe said he turned her around by her right shoulder, and she was completely caught off guard. He hauled up and slapped her so hard she spun around. She said she was in utter shock.â
The second friend said that Jane had slapped him back and that she had tried to get out of there by herself but that Emhoff had forced his way into the taxi.
âShe couldnât believe he is the person that he is, and that it turned into this trailer trash moment,â the second friend said. âIt woke her up about the self-delusion she was having, explaining away the teacher story. She realized he was bad news. This was the first time she saw his ugly side.â
âShe said she called [her male businessman friend] because she wanted Doug to see her on the phone, telling somebody,â the second friend said. âShe felt that would afford her some protection.â
A third friend, a female executive, said that Jane told her about the story in 2018.
âI donât know if it was an aggressive slap or a punch, but it was something that I know she would never forget, and something that would end a relationship immediately,â the third friend said. âShe had never been hit in her life. [Jane] is a gorgeous, strong woman and you would never expect somebody to hit her.â
âI asked her if he ever apologized. She said no, but he commented about the hit she gave him. It was a tennis metaphor. But no apology at all,â she continued. âHe was a tennis fan. All he said to her was, âDonât worry about it, you got one across the court and down the line.'â
The friends said that Emhoff allegedly told Jane that he impregnated his childâs babysitter and that the nanny claimed Emhoff was so âaggressive with her, shouting or whatever, to the degree that she lost the baby.â
The publication obtained Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) records that showed they were called to the home where the nanny was living in 2009, around the time she was allegedly pregnant, about a âlife threatening emergency, lights and sirens on.â
The department did not release any information about the incident or who was involved.
The female executive told the publication that she and Jane were both Democrats, and she felt that the public needed to know about Emhoff, given the possibility that his wife could end up becoming president.
âHeâs holding himself out to be something he absolutely is not. And thatâs bulls***.â she said. â[Jane] was always leaning Democratic. I have always voted Democratic. If anything I would like to tell a story on the other side. But this is the truth.â
âHeâs a really bad guy,â she added. âTo hold him out as a supporter of women is just disgusting.â
Neither Emhoff nor Jane responded to requests for comment.