When Lynn Peters, a white woman, was charged with sexual assault for allegedly groping a Black man, she blamed her “mood swings” for the incident.
The charge was later dropped, but the story of her assault, her “misbehavior,” and the subsequent media circus surrounding it will surely haunt her for years to come.
Now, as she is trying to rebuild her career after a racist and misogynist smear campaign against her, Peters is facing backlash for making a public statement that was made out of fear and panic rather than due diligence.
Peters is a former Miss Utah, and has been widely praised for her role in promoting inclusion in the community.
In the aftermath of the 2016 election, she received praise from many who supported the Democratic Party and its candidate, Hillary Clinton, as a champion of inclusion.
But her public statement about the incident is causing a backlash, with some people calling her a liar and “a sociopath.”
Her public statement came as the New York Times published a story about a New Jersey woman who claimed she was assaulted by a Trump supporter after a campaign event in November.
“She was crying and was in pain,” the woman told the Times.
“I just remember thinking, I’m not going to be in that situation again.
I’m going to take this to the police.
But they never came.
She said, ‘I don’t want to talk to the cops, they’re not going anywhere.'”
Peters was quick to distance herself from the woman’s claim, and even though she said she had “no reason to doubt her” and was “not a victim,” her statement was widely condemned by people.
“It’s a shame that you have to go through this, especially when you’re such a talented and wonderful person,” one Twitter user said.
“You should have just said, I don’t know, ‘It was a horrible experience, but I don.t care.'”
“If you want to get a free pass, blame someone else, not yourself,” another said.
The New York City mayor also issued a statement condemning the story.
“The allegations in the New Jersey case are troubling and deeply disturbing,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
He added, “As a leader in our City and state, I want everyone in our community to know that the NYPD takes all allegations of misconduct seriously, and will vigorously pursue any and all charges that are filed.”
In an interview with Fox News’ Tucker Carlson, Peters denied the accusation.
“There was no groping.
I was never touched,” Peters said.
However, in her interview with Carlson, she said that “some people who know me and know my family, they say I’ve got a temper,” adding that “I have a lot of problems.”
She continued, “I don.
t feel sorry for myself.
I don t feel like I’m a bad person.
I do feel like some people in my family have made mistakes.”
She then said, “Maybe I’m just a normal person.
Maybe there is a lot going on in my life.”
In addition to her statement about how she “never expected” to be charged, Peters said that she felt like she had to make a public apology because “I feel like people will believe me if they see the statement, and they’ll believe me when I tell them.”
“I never thought I’d get in trouble for anything like that.
I never thought that I’d go through something like that, and it’s just so frustrating.
I can’t believe that I’m the only one who was targeted, I can not believe that it’s my family that’s going through this.
And I really feel like that’s the point I’m making here,” Peters told Carlson.
“And it just feels like a big mistake, I know it’s not the best thing to do, but people need to know I have nothing to hide.”
But she defended herself, telling Carlson, “You just go with your gut and go with the gut that’s telling you.
And you just go out there and do your job.”
In a statement to Salon, Peters reiterated that she did not intend to hurt anyone, adding that she was “happy to cooperate with law enforcement” to “get to the bottom of this.”
Peters is not the first person to face accusations of racism and sexism by her colleagues at Fox News.
In May, former Fox News contributor Michelle Fields was arrested for allegedly assaulting a Black reporter.
Her supporters have accused her of being a “white supremacist,” and Fox News even tweeted a picture of her with the caption “The truth is that we’re all white supremacists.”
The next day, Fox News host Bill O’Reilly was caught on camera telling a colleague, “It doesn’t matter what color you are, whether you’re Black, whether or not you’re white, you’re not welcome at Fox.”
The former Fox host has since resigned from the network.
O’Connor was charged by the FBI with one count of felony criminal threatening, which carries a