Since Richard Branson owns his own island, you’d think he’d be more tactful when it comes to methods of water transportation. Apparently, that’s not the case.
A singer is accusing the Virgin CEO of sexually assaulting her by “motorboating” her cleavage at one of his parties.
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Antonia Jenae (above, insert) — a backup singer for Joss Stone — claims she attended a party on Branson’s private island in the British Virgin Islands in 2010 when the billionaire buried his face in her breasts and made engine noises.
Speaking to The Sun, she recalled:
“His behaviour was disgusting. I feel like it was sexual assault. We were by the bar and he was saying bye to everyone. He came up to me and put his face in my breasts. He went ├óΓé¼╦£brrrrrr’ and just walked away.”
Jenae remembered feeling horribly embarrassed, as the incident went down in front of the entire party, but was too shocked to say anything to Branson:
“It was surreal, totally out of the blue. Joss and I were like, ├óΓé¼╦£What the hell was that?!’ Everyone was wondering why I wasn’t angry because I’m usually a firebrand. But I was just too shocked.”
While Jenae claims many partygoers witnessed the alleged assault, including the Fell In Love With A Boy singer, Branson’s reps are denying any motorboating went down.
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In a statement to press, a spokesperson for the CEO wrote:
“Everyone appeared to enjoy their time. Richard has no recollection of this matter. Neither do his family and friends who were with him at the time. There would never have been any intention to offend or make anyone feel uncomfortable. Richard apologises if anyone felt that way.”
Well, Jenae sure felt that way. She named Branson in a Facebook post from October 2016, writing:
“Women are coming forward. I believe them. It happened to me. By Sir Richard Branson. In front of the international singer I worked for.”
But does the international singer remember the alleged encounter? Joss’ reps declined to comment, but a source confirmed the motorboating incident left an impression on the singer, telling The Sun:
“It was a hell of a party. Richard made a bit of a beeline for Antonia. Something definitely went on between them. She didn’t say what it was, or if she’d been upset. But undeniably they had a physical encounter.”
As for why she finally went public with her accusations, Jenae says she’s been inspired to tell her truth following the Hollywood sexual harassment scandal. She added:
“This needs to stop. I want everyone else to know what Richard Branson did. I don’t want him to do this to anyone else. He is a man in a powerful position.”
We hope this inspires any other recipients of an unwanted advances to speak out against the flirty airline mogul.
[Image via Facebook/Tony Oudot/WENN.]
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