Since Harvey Weinstein was sacked from his own company in the wake of numerous allegations of sexual assault, we rarely see a day pass without another name being added to the list of alleged abusers. Sir Richard Branson is the latest celebrity to join the list. According to The Sun , 44-year-old singer Antonia Jenae alleges that Branson placed his face in her cleavage and made motorboat noises. Jenae is a backing singer for world-renowned soul singer Joss Stone and was invited to Branson’s exclusive Necker island after the band played a festival on nearby Tortola in the Caribbean.
Jenae claims that she was with Joss Stone and the rest of the band in a bar saying their goodbyes when billionaire business tycoon Branson put his face between her breasts and made the peculiar noises.
“We were by the bar and he was saying bye to everyone. He came up to me and put his face in [between] my breasts.
“He went ‘brrrrrr’ and just walked away. It was surreal, totally out of the blue. Joss and I were like, ‘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.”
The alleged incident took place in 2010, but as reported by the Telegraph , Richard Branson says that he has “ no recollection ” of the alleged incident. A spokesperson for Branson’s Virgin Management issued a statement saying that Richard Branson has “no recollection of this matter and neither do his family and friends, who were with him on the island at the time.”
The statement went on to say that Branson apologizes if anyone was offended or made to feel “uncomfortable” during their time on Branson’s private Necker Island.
It is, of course, reasonable to question why it has taken seven years for Jenae to make her allegations against Richard Branson. Jenae, who also claims that Branson asked her to show him her breasts and to walk around topless, says that she has been encouraged to speak out in the wake of the numerous Hollywood sex scandals of recent weeks. Jenae says that she wants everyone to know about Branson’s alleged actions in the hope that the same thing does not happen to others.
As reported by NME , Joss Stone has not made any comment about the allegations made against Sir Richard Branson. However, Virgin did also release a statement made by the singer’s father, Richard Stoker, who was also one of Branson’s guests at the party on Necker Island. Mr. Stoker said that Joss and the rest of the group had a “wonderful afternoon” on Necker Island with Branson and his family. He also said that everyone had entered into the “party spirit,” and that it had been “wonderful” getting to know Branson and his family.
[Featured Image by Ted S. Warren/AP Images]