Canadian MP Compares Justin Trudeau’s Groping Claim Response to Weinstein’s

Rempel blasted Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's recent response to ongoing scrutiny regarding allegations that he groped a female reporter 18 years ago. Rempel compared Trudeau's excuse to Weinstein's. The disgraced mogul stands accused of first degree rape following a major public scandal.

"I remember that day in Creston well," Trudeau said June 2, talking to reporters about the alleged incident. "I had a good day that day. I don't remember any negative interactions that day at all."

This was the first time Trudeau personally responded to the allegations; before that he either ignored the matter entirely or had his office respond to individual media inquiries, the Daily Caller wrote.

"Well I'm sure Harvey Weinstein said that he couldn't recall things either," Rempel told Huffington Post Canada on Wednesday.

She's right. Weinstein has repeatedly claimed he doesn't remember doing the things he's been accused of. In December 2017, he said in a statement he didn't recall pushing Salma Hayek to do nonconsensual sexual things; earlier in October, Kate Beckinsale also said Weinstein "couldn't remember if he had assaulted me or not."

Rempel also said that Trudeau's response signals a consistency problem after the government wrapped itself "in a cloak of feminism."

"So it's do as I say, but not as I do," she said. Rempel added that it's disappointing that Liberal MPs have "refused to comment on what's right in front of them."

Trudeau has called himself a feminist and made a significant effort to adopt a feminist image on the international stage, the Huffington Post noted.

The allegation against Trudeau stems from a Creston Valley Advance editorial published in 2000 that has gained mass popularity on social media in recent weeks. It quotes a 28-year-old Trudeau apologizing for being "forward" with a female journalist.

"If I had known you were reporting for a national paper, I would have never been so forward," he reportedly said at the time.

Back in January, at the height of the #MeToo movement's wave of harassment and assault claims, Trudeau was asked whether he recalled any instances in his past where his own actions could have been misinterpreted as misconduct.

"I don't think so. I've been very, very careful all my life to be thoughtful, to be respectful of people's space and people's headspace as well," he said at the time.