George H. W. Bush has apologized again through a spokesman after a second actress accused the former president of groping her in 2016. 
 
 “At age 93, President Bush has been confined to a wheelchair for roughly five years, so his arm falls on the lower waist of people with whom he takes pictures,” read a statement from Bush’s office on Wednesday. 
 
 “To try to put people at ease, the president routinely tells the same joke — and on occasion, he has patted women’s rears in what he intended to be a good-natured manner,” the statement continued. “Some have seen it as innocent; others clearly view it as inappropriate.” 
 
 “To anyone he has offended, President Bush apologizes most sincerely,” it concluded. 
 
 New York actress Jordana Grolnick told Deadspin on Wednesday that she had posed for a photo with Bush when he came to see a theatre production of The Hunchback at Notre Dame, which she was also acting in. Grolnick posted a now-deleted Instagram of the moment. 
 
 She said other actors had warned her that Bush had a “reputation” for groping during photo-ops, but she didn’t take it seriously. 
 
 “I guess I was thinking, ‘He’s in a wheelchair, what harm could he do?'” she said. 
 
 Grolnick said she stood right next to him when she claims he grabbed her from behind while saying, “‘Do you want to know who my favorite magician is? David Cop-a-Feel!'” 
 
 The actress said his wife, Barbara Bush stood nearby. “[She] said something along the lines of, ‘He’s going to get himself put into jail!'” 
 
 This is the second set of allegations against the Bush patriarch. On Tuesday, actress Heather Lind wrote in a now-deleted Instagram post that she was standing next to the former president when he “touched me from behind from his wheelchair with his wife Barbara [Bush] by his side.” 
 
 Mike Pont/WireImage 
 
 Lind, who stars in AMC’s TURN: Washington’s Spies also alleges Bush told her a “dirty joke.” 
 
 The incident allegedly occurred in 2014 during a screening of the AMC drama that the cast attended. Lind was standing beside Bush for the photograph. 
 
 Aaron M. Sprecher/Invision for AMC/AP Images 
 
 Following the allegations, on Tuesday night the former president’s spokesman Jim McGrath said in the statement, “President Bush would never — under any circumstance — intentionally cause anyone distress, and he most sincerely apologizes if his attempt at humor offended Ms. Lind.” 
 
 Lind was seemingly “disturbed” by a photograph of former Presidents Barack Obama and Bush shaking hands at a gathering of other former presidents. 
 
 RELATED VIDEO: George H. W. Bush Apologizes to Actress After She Claims He ‘Sexually Assaulted’ Her During a Photo Shoot 
 
 “I found it disturbing because I recognize the respect ex-presidents are given for having served,” she wrote. “And I feel pride and reverence toward many of the men in the photo. But when I got the chance to meet George H. W. Bush four years ago to promote a historical television show I was working on, he sexually assaulted me while I was posing for a similar photo.” 
 
 Gary Miller/Getty Images 
 
 “He didn’t shake my hand. He touched me from behind from his wheelchair with his wife Barbara by his side. He told me a dirty joke. And then, all the while being photographed, touched me again.” 
 
 Lind explained more of the experience, writing, “Barbara rolled her eyes as if to say “not again”. His security guard told me I shouldn’t have stood next to him for the photo. We were instructed to call him Mr. President. It seems to me a President’s power is in his or her capacity to enact positive change, actually help people, and serve as a symbol of our democracy.” 
 
 She wrote that her AMC castmates knew about the alleged assault because she told them, and that she decided to come forward because of “the bravery of other women who have spoken up and written about their experiences.” 
 
 The accusation comes as a slew of women have accused Hollywood power producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault and harassment, as well as similar claims against other actors, producers, directors and studio executives. 
 
 A spokesperson for Weinstein previously told PEOPLE in a statement that “any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr. Weinstein.” ||||| UPDATED with new accusations from second actress: Following Lind’s accusation and a set of two apologies from Bush’s camp, another actress has come forward admitting that the former president touched her inappropriately. 
 
 Jordana Grolnick said in August 2016 while she was working on a production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame in Maine, Bush came backstage during intermission and grabbed her as they posed for a picture. 
 
 She claims, “He reached his right hand around to my behind, and as we smiled for the photo he asked the group, ‘Do you want to know who my favorite magician is?’ As I felt his hand dig into my flesh, he said, ‘David Cop-a-Feel!’” 
 
 
 
 EARLIER with second apology from George H.W. Bush: Since the accusations from Lind, former President George H.W. Bush has issued a second apology to the first. 
 
 According to The Washington Post spokesman, Jim McGrath, released a full statement on Wednesday: 
 
 At age 93, President Bush has been confined to a wheelchair for roughly five years, so his arm falls on the lower waist of people with whom he takes pictures. To try to put people at ease, the president routinely tells the same joke — and on occasion, he has patted women’s rears in what he intended to be a good-natured manner. Some have seen it as innocent; others clearly view it as inappropriate. To anyone he has offended, President Bush apologizes most sincerely. 
 
 EARLIER: Turn: Washington’s Spies actress Heather Lind has come forward with accusations that President George H.W. Bush sexually assaulted her during a photo opportunity with his wife Barbara Bush standing by his side. Bush has since apologized for the incident saying that it was an “attempt at humor” and that he didn’t mean to offend Lind. 
 
 Lind made the accusations through a lengthy Instagram post that has since been deleted. She recently saw a photo of the 93-year-old wheelchair bound Bush shaking hands with Barack Obama at the One America Appeal hurricane relief concert which prompted her to share her alleged experience saying, “…when I got the chance to meet George H. W. Bush four years ago to promote a historical television show I was working on, he sexually assaulted me while I was posing for a similar photo.” 
 
 The Instagram post continued saying that Bush touched her from behind and told her a dirty joke — all while being photographed. All the while Barbara Bush “rolled her eyes as if to say ‘Not again’.” 
 
 “It seems to me a President’s power is in his or her capacity to enact positive change, actually help people, and serve as a symbol of our democracy,” she continued. “He relinquished that power when he used it against me and, judging from the comments of those around him, countless other women before me. What comforts me is that I too can use my power, which isn’t so different from a President really.” 
 
 She closed the post saying, “My fellow cast-mates and producers helped me that day and continue to support me. I am grateful for the bravery of other women who have spoken up and written about their experiences. And I thank President Barack Obama for the gesture of respect he made toward George H. W. Bush for the sake of our country, but I do not respect him. #metoo.” 
 
 In a statement to the New York Daily News, Bush’s spokesperson said, “President Bush would never — under any circumstance — intentionally cause anyone distress, and he most sincerely apologizes if his attempt at humor offended Ms. Lind” 
 
 Lind’s accusations come in the wake of the Weinstein scandal and the fallout of many film and TV executives due to sexual harassment allegations. 
 
 As mentioned in her now-deleted Instagram post, her colleagues have come forward to support her allegations. Turn co-star and Pirates of the Caribbean actor Kevin McNally tweeted, “My full support for @heatherglind for speaking out about the horrible event in Houston. All of which is true.” This was followed by numerous tweets about sexual harassment. 
 
 Author of Washington Spies, the book on which Turn is based also tweeted saying, “@heatherglind & ex-Pres. Bush, her account is 100% accurate. I was there. It was not a ‘joke’ gone awry.” The official Turn account also chimed in, tweeting, “Sexual assault is always about abusing power over their victims. The fact that this has been politicized is avoiding the real issue.” 
 
 My full support for @heatherglind for speaking out about the horrible event in Houston. All of which is true. — Kevin McNally (@exkevinmcnally) October 25, 2017 
 
 Re: @heatherglind & ex-Pres. Bush, her account is 100% accurate. I was there. It was not a "joke" gone awry. @westratenick — Alexander Rose (@AlexRoseWriter) October 25, 2017 ||||| Liz Allen alleged in a Facebook post that she was touched inappropriately by former President George H.W. Bush in 2004 when Bush was in Erie to attend a Manufacturer and Business Association event. 
 
 Liz Allen, a Democratic nominee for Erie City Council, has alleged in a Facebook post that she was touched inappropriately by former President George H.W. Bush in 2004 when Bush was in Erie to attend a Manufacturer and Business Association event. 
 
 Allen is the fourth woman to make an accusation against Bush this week. A Bush representative on Wednesday issued an apology and said that the nation's 41st president, in the past, "has patted women’s rears in what he intended to be a good-natured manner.” That statement was issued after an actress posted on her Instagram account that Bush had touched her "from behind" while she posed for a photo with him. 
 
 Allen, 66, said in an interview that she was not "traumatized" by the 2004 incident in Erie, and at the time she didn't feel the need to "speak up" about it. 
 
 "But I didn't like it," Allen said. "It did not rise to the level of assault, but it was in my (personal) space. 
 
 "I really hesitated," Allen said about publishing her Facebook post Thursday. "I didn't want people thinking I was jumping on some bandwagon. But I wanted people to know it happened to me." 
 
 Allen is a retired Erie Times-News journalist who is among four Democrats and one Republican seeking four open seats on City Council in the Nov. 7 municipal election. She led all candidates in vote totals in the May 16 municipal primary. 
 
 Allen on Thursday posted on her personal Facebook page a status update that started with #metoo, a hashtag that goes back a decade and which has received renewed attention since actress Alyssa Milano urged women to use it if they have been sexually harassed or assaulted in the past. 
 
 Allen's post included a link to a story about actress Heather Lind's allegation against Bush in a now-deleted Instagram post. Lind claimed that Bush touched her from behind four years ago while she posed for a photo with him. 
 
 Bush's spokesman, Jim McGrath, issued a statement to CNN on Wednesday that "President Bush would never — under any circumstance — intentionally cause anyone distress, and he most sincerely apologizes if his attempt at humor offended Ms. Lind." 
 
 In a second statement later Wednesday, McGrath made reference to the fact Bush suffers from Parkinson's disease and is confined to a wheelchair. 
 
 "At age 93, President Bush has been confined to a wheelchair for roughly five years, so his arm falls on the lower waist of people with whom he takes pictures," McGrath said. "To try to put people at ease, the president routinely tells the same joke — and on occasion, he has patted women's rears in what he intended to be a good-natured manner. 
 
 "Some have seen it as innocent; others clearly view it as inappropriate. To anyone he has offended, President Bush apologizes most sincerely," McGrath said. 
 
 Allen's Facebook post, in part, reads: "#metoo. Guess what? He did this to me when we posed for a photo after the Manufacturer and Business Association dinner, after the Pat Locco scholarship was awarded." 
 
 Bush spoke at the Manufacturer and Business Association's annual dinner on June 30, 2004. Locco is Allen's late husband, and she attended the event. 
 
 "I think it was 2004; I can dig and find the exact date. He was NOT in a wheelchair then. And he gave a great talk at the dinner that night," Allen wrote. 
 
 
 
 "It was cool to be in a photo with a former president. But I remember feeling uncomfortable with that pat or touch on my behind," Allen wrote. "It didn't traumatize me. I didn't need counseling. 
 
 "I told a couple of friends about it later, but I didn't make a big deal about it then and I'm not making a big deal about it now. It just felt inappropriate. I hadn't thought about the pat on the butt until this story broke." 
 
 McGrath was not immediately available for comment about Allen's accusation. 
 
 Allen wrote in her post that after she saw a tweet from journalist Andrea Mitchell that was critical of Lind, "I wanted to tell Mitchell that it happened to me, a hometown columnist in Erie, a few years ago." 
 
 The Associated Press has reported that since Lind's claim, another actress, Jordana Grolnick, said Bush grabbed her buttocks during a group photo in 2016 at the Ogunquit Playhouse in Maine. She told Deadspin that Bush quipped that his favorite magician is "David Cop-a-Feel" and grabbed her. She said Barbara Bush responded, "He's going to get himself put in jail." 
 
 Author Christina Baker Kline also wrote in Slate magazine that Bush asked her "You wanna know my favorite book?” then touched her and said "David Cop-a-Feel" at an event in 2014. 
 
 Bush was president from 1989 to 1993. 
 
 Kevin Flowers can be reached at 870-1693 or by email. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNflowers.
– Actress Heather Lind accused former President George HW Bush of sexual assault in a now-deleted Instagram post Tuesday, saying the former president "touched her from behind" during a photo-op in 2014. The Turn: Washington's Spies star said the inappropriate behavior occurred during a special screening before the AMC historical drama's debut, Deadline reports. "He touched me from behind from his wheelchair with his wife Barbara Bush by his side," Lind wrote. "He told me a dirty joke. And then, all the while being photographed, touched me again. Barbara rolled her eyes as if to say 'not again.'" Lind said a security guard told her she "shouldn't have stood next to him for the photo." Lind said that judging from comments from people around her, Bush had behaved the same way with "countless other women." "My fellow castmates and producers helped me that day and continue to support me," she wrote. Lind said she decided to come forward with her story after seeing a recent photo of the 93-year-old Bush with former President Obama. Bush issued an apology through a spokesman. "President Bush would never—under any circumstance—intentionally cause anyone distress, and he most sincerely apologizes if his attempt at humor offended Ms. Lind," the spokesman said in a statement to the New York Daily News.