Second gentleman Doug Emhoff, portrayed by mainstream media as a "wife guy" who "redefines masculinity," slapped his ex-girlfriend "so hard she spun around," the Daily Mail reported Wednesday.
Emhoff allegedly hit his former girlfriend, a New York attorney, for "flirting with another man" while waiting in a valet line after a May 2012 Cannes Film Festival event, according to three friends of the victim who confirmed the story to the Daily Mail.
The report comes just days after Jen Psaki, MSNBC host and former Biden White House press secretary, praised Emhoff for "reshap[ing] the perception of masculinity" in a Sunday interview.
"I’ve always been like this," Emhoff told Psaki. "To me, it's the right thing to do, support women."
Mainstream media have portrayed Emhoff as a "wife guy" and a "model of masculinity."
"As the first man in this role, he is not only shattering perceptions of gender roles; he is also taking a sledgehammer to toxic masculinity," Jonathan Capehart, a member of the Washington Post editorial board, wrote in 2023.
The ex-girlfriend tried to leave the event without Emhoff following the assault, but Emhoff forced his way into the cab with her, the outlet reported.
"[Emhoff] slapped her so hard she spun around," said a second friend, a female New York attorney. "She was so furious. She slapped him on one side, and then on the other cheek with the other hand."
"She realized he was bad news. This was the first time she saw his ugly side," the friend added.
A third friend, a female top company executive, told the outlet that the victim recounted the story to her in 2018. "I asked her if he ever apologized. She said no, but he commented about the hit she gave him. It was a tennis metaphor. But no apology at all," the executive said.
All three individuals shared pictures and documents corroborating elements of the story but asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation by Emhoff.
This summer, Emhoff admitted to cheating on his first wife with his daughter’s nanny after a Daily Mail report revealed that he impregnated the woman.