A “creepy” and “weird” Kentucky lawmaker has been accused of sending hundreds of obscene late-night text messages to his female staff.
Three women between the ages of 26 and 28 have come forward with sexual harassment allegations against married state Rep. Daniel Grossberg, 45, who is under investigation by the state’s Legislative Research Commission.
Grossberg has denied the allegations, which relate to incidents over the past two years, but also apologized for making anyone feel “uncomfortable.”
His lawyer has defended the interactions, saying the texts contained nothing “inappropriate,” adding that he is autistic.
The women, who are involved in Democratic politics in Frankfort, the capital of Kentucky, shared a series of communications from Grossberg (a total of 63 texts and 68 direct messages sent on X) with the Lexington Herald Leader.
They described Grossberg’s messages as “creepy” and “bizarre,” from telling employees he found them “beautiful” to asking them for nudes and warning a 26-year-old woman that if she discovered his pornographic preferences she would “never forgive him.”
Three women between the ages of 26 and 28 have filed sexual harassment allegations against married state Rep. Daniel Grossberg, 45 (pictured with his wife).
The woman who received the communication about her pornographic preferences said the comment left her feeling “deeply uncomfortable and increasingly insecure.”
“His power within the party, combined with the nature of his questions and comments, left me feeling threatened and worried about the future of my career,” she told the Herald-Leader.
She revealed that the married lawmaker had encouraged her to download Snapchat, where messages and photos disappear shortly after being sent.
“I like chats that can’t be used against me. Hahaha,” she wrote on December 1, 2023.
The 26-year-old said Grossberg had been “relentlessly” asked to send her nude photos.
The accusers, all of whom are involved in Democratic politics in Frankfort, Kentucky’s capital, shared a series of communications from Grossberg (a total of 63 texts and 68 direct messages sent on X) with the Lexington Herald Leader.
She described Grossberg as “frightening” and added that his actions “had caused me significant distress and left me with a deep sense of vulnerability.”
Another woman revealed messages from Grossberg calling her “beautiful” while saying he was “in love” with her in 2021, when she was 24 years old.
She said the attack came despite the fact that she “barely knew him,” but felt she could not fight back because of Grossberg’s powerful position in Kentucky politics.
The woman said Grossberg also texted her just before midnight in August 2022 telling her she was “beautiful, beautiful.”
“To have a married man refer to me as ‘beautiful, beautiful’ in a text message at 11:37 p.m. is something I would not want to happen to me,” she told the Herald-Leader.
‘I remember waking up to that text and thinking how disgusting it was, but I never said anything to him or anyone else, because I didn’t know who to say anything to.’
In January of this year, Grossberg allegedly invited the woman out for drinks in another late-night text and probed her about the year she graduated from high school, before making an even creepier comment.
Grossberg has denied the allegations, which relate to incidents that occurred over the past two years, but also apologized for making anyone feel “uncomfortable.” (Pictured: Grossberg walking on the beach with his wife on their wedding day)
She responded the next morning agreeing to go for a drink, though she said that meeting never materialized, and he responded by saying, “there’s something about” the girls at that school, along with a winking face emoji.
The woman also detailed how Grossberg told her in December 2023 that his feelings for her had increased. “My crush on you just went to 11,” he allegedly wrote.
Speaking about the moment she read this message, the woman said: ‘I remember the feeling of my heart sinking into my stomach as I sat in my office at work, preparing to eat the leftover Indian food I had just warmed up.
“I remember losing my appetite. I remember my whole body shaking with anxiety. I remember wanting to go home.”
The woman said she even went so far as to recruit two male friends to protect her from Grossberg at campaign events.
“I looked at these two friends and made them swear they wouldn’t let him near me,” he said.
The staffer added that she was speaking on behalf of “those who are afraid of his power as a sitting legislator,” adding that Grossberg’s behavior “has to stop.”
Other allegations against Grossberg include instances where he allegedly invited employees back to his office and served them alcoholic beverages before getting drunk in front of them.
During one such encounter, he allegedly asked a lesbian employee several sex-related questions, including one about her genitals.
He told the woman that she was very attractive and added that it was a “pity” that she didn’t like men.
Grossberg, who is autistic, has denied the sexual harassment allegations, which relate to incidents spanning the past two years, but apologized for making anyone feel “uncomfortable.”
Three women between the ages of 26 and 28 have come forward with sexual harassment allegations against married state Rep. Daniel Grossberg, 45, who is being investigated by the state’s Legislative Research Commission. (Pictured: Grossberg with his wife)
The third female staffer who came forward is trans, and said the lawmaker made her feel uncomfortable by questioning her at length while drunk about her genitals, her sex life and whether she had undergone gender reassignment surgery.
She added that she does not find the post-operative vaginas of trans women “convincing,” she said.
“At that point I realized I was in a tough spot,” he told the Herald-Leader.
‘As a 26-year-old trans woman, I was alone with a drunk, middle-aged state representative in his office, questioning me about my identity and sexual history.
“I felt trapped.”
Grossberg denied the allegations but also issued an apology.
“I deny any allegations of sexual harassment or abuse of power,” he wrote in an email to the Herald-Leader.
‘I sincerely apologize to anyone who was made uncomfortable by anything I said or wrote.’
Grossberg added in his statement that he is “fully cooperating” with an ethics investigation into his conduct and said he is determined to hold himself “to a higher standard and am committed to listening to the voices of women.”
House Democrats voted to temporarily suspend Grossberg from their caucus while the investigation continues.
His lawyer, Anna Whites, said his texts did not contain any “sexually harassing or inappropriate” content.
“It’s very easy to make accusations and take comments out of context,” he told the Herald-Leader.
Whites previously said Grossberg has a “neurodivergent diagnosis,” meaning he is on the autism spectrum.
