MI Senator To Female Reporter: Boys 'Could Have Fun With You'

LANSING, MI — A Michigan state senator is under scrutiny for telling a female reporter that a group of high school students from an all-boys schools could "have a lot of fun with her." The comment was made by Sen. Peter Lucido, R-Shelby Township, during an interview with Allison Donahue, a reporter from the Michigan Advance, while the pair was surrounded by a group of male students.

During the interview, Lucido asked Donahue outside the Michigan Senate Chamber if she'd heard of De La Salle Collegiate in Warren. When she said she had not, the Detroit Free Press reported, Lucido told her it was an all-boys school, adding “You should hang around! You could have a lot of fun with these boys, or they could have a lot of fun with you.” The entire group then burst into laughter.

Donahue wrote about the encounter with Lucido in the Advance, saying she felt humiliated and objectified. She also said "it's time to hold powerful men accountable for the sexist things they say to young women."

"I’ve been the subject of locker room talk before, and laughed it off with all the boys in the room," Donahue continued. "I’ve been convinced not to report an instance of sexual assault because of the trouble the man would get into, and I never said anything. There have been too many moments, big and small, that I wish I would have told someone or spoken up about."

Kara Cook, an adviser to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, said on Twitter she was "unfortunately not surprised" by Lucido's remarks.

Donahue was at the Capitol to ask Lucido about him posting messages on an anti-Whitmer Facebook group where other members posted messages advocating violence against Democrats and Muslims.

Lucido spoke with the Detroit Free Press following the incident. He did not dispute the comments but said they were taken out of context. He also said he didn't feel as though he owed Donahue an apology. However, he later apologized for what he called a misunderstanding. The apology was issued through the Michigan Senate Republican office and Lucido's Twitter account.