In his years as a reality TV boss on The Apprentice, Donald Trump repeatedly demeaned women with sexist language, according to show insiders who said he rated female contestants by the size of their breasts and talked about which ones he'd like to have sex with.
The Associated Press interviewed more than 20 people - former crew members, editors and contestants - who described crass behaviour by Trump behind the scenes of the long-running hit show.
Here are some claims:
- He repeatedly made lewd comments about a camerawoman he said had a nice rear, comparing her beauty to that of his daughter, Ivanka.
- He called for female contestants to wear shorter dresses that also showed more cleavage.
- He talked about which female contestants he wanted to sleep with, even though he had married former model Melania Knauss earlier that year.
- He frequently talked about women's bodies during the five seasons she worked with him and said he speculated about which female contestant would be "a tiger in bed.''
- He asked male contestants whether they would sleep with a particular female contestant, then expressed his own interest.
The Trump campaign has issued a general denial about what it describes as the "outlandish, unsubstantiated, and totally false claims fabricated by publicity hungry, opportunistic, disgruntled former employees".
Other cast and crew interviewed said they had positive, professional experiences with Trump, and added that they had never heard comments that made them uncomfortable.
