Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax reportedly made some profane remarks Monday about Dr. Vanessa Tyson, a woman accusing him of sexual assault. NBC News reported Wednesday that Fairfax said “f**k that b***h” of Tyson in a private meeting Monday.
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Justin Fairfax said “fuck that bitch” as he tried to discredit his accuser during a private meeting Monday night, sources tell @NBCNews’ @GeoffRBennett and me.
— Jonathan Allen (@jonallendc) February 6, 2019
Tyson, a professor at Scripps College, alleged that Fairfax had physically forced her to perform oral sex in 2004 at the Democratic National Convention.
Fairfax strongly denied the allegation in a statement Wednesday, saying that the encounter was “consensual.”
"I would like to encourage the media, my supporters, and others to treat both the woman who made this allegation and my family with respect for how painful this situation can be for everyone involved," he wrote. "I wish her no harm or humiliation, nor do I seek to denigrate her or diminish her voice. But I cannot agree with a description of events that I know is not true."
— Justin Fairfax (@FairfaxJustin) February 6, 2019
Virginia Democrats have been scandal-ridden this past week. Gov. Ralph Northam’s shocking medical school yearbook photo of someone in blackface and another person in a KKK hood surfaced and, in a press conference Saturday, he admitted to wearing blackface for a dance competition.
Fairfax implied that Gov. Northam was behind his sexual assault allegations coming out shortly after the yearbook photo.
“Does anybody think it’s any coincidence that on the eve of potentially my being elevated that that’s when this uncorroborated smear comes out?” Fairfax told reporters.
Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring admitted Wednesday that he too had donned blackface for a costume.
"In 1980, when I was a 19-year-old undergraduate in college, some friends suggested we attend a party dressed like rappers we listened to at the time, like Kurtis Blow, and perform a song,” Herring said in his statement. “It sounds ridiculous even now writing it. But because of our ignorance and glib attitudes – and because we did not have an appreciation for the experiences and perspectives of others – we dressed up and put on wigs and brown makeup.”
"This was a onetime occurrence and I accept full responsibility for my conduct,” he said.
Thus far, Herring and Northam have not indicated any plans to resign.