page_title: Arnold Schwarzenegger
section_title: Allegations of sexual misconduct and drug use
hierarchical_section_title: Arnold Schwarzenegger / Political career / Allegations of sexual misconduct and drug use
caption_attribution_description: English: Cropped and resized photo by en:User:Maveric149. Photo taken at en:Arnold Schwarzenegger's inauguration on en:November 17, en:2003. Image released under the en:GNU FDL.
context_page_description: Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American actor, businessman, former politician and professional bodybuilder. He served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 to 2011. As of 2020, he is the most recent Republican governor of California.
  Schwarzenegger began lifting weights at the age of 15, and went on to win the Mr. Universe title at age 20 before winning the Mr. Olympia contest seven times; he remains a prominent presence in bodybuilding and has written many books and articles on the sport. The Arnold Sports Festival, considered the second most important bodybuilding event after Mr. Olympia, is named after him. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time, as well as the sport's most charismatic and famous ambassador.
  Schwarzenegger gained worldwide fame as a Hollywood action film icon. His breakthrough film was the sword-and-sorcery epic Conan the Barbarian, a box-office hit that resulted in a sequel in 1984.
context_section_description: During his initial campaign for governor in 2003, allegations of sexual and personal misconduct were raised against Schwarzenegger. Within the last five days before the election, news reports appeared in the Los Angeles Times recounting allegations of sexual misconduct from several individual women, six of whom eventually came forward with their personal stories. Three of the women claimed he had grabbed their breasts, a fourth said he placed his hand under her skirt on her buttock. A fifth woman claimed Schwarzenegger tried to take off her bathing suit in a hotel elevator, and the last said he pulled her onto his lap and asked her about a sex act.
  Schwarzenegger replied in 2004 that he has "behaved badly sometimes" and apologized, but also stated that "a lot of [what] you see in the stories is not true". This led to a resurfacing of an interview in adult magazine Oui from 1977, in which Schwarzenegger discussed attending sexual orgies and using substances such as marijuana. Schwarzenegger is shown smoking a marijuana joint after winning Mr. Olympia in the 1975 documentary film Pumping Iron. In an interview with GQ magazine in October 2007, Schwarzenegger said, "[Marijuana] is not a drug. It's a leaf. My drug was pumping iron, trust me." His spokesperson later said the comment was meant to be a joke.
  British television personality Anna Richardson settled a libel lawsuit in August 2006 against Schwarzenegger, his top aide, Sean Walsh, and his publicist, Sheryl Main. A joint statement read: "The parties are content to put this matter behind them and are pleased that this legal dispute has now been settled." Richardson claimed they tried to tarnish her reputation by dismissing her allegations that Schwarzenegger touched her breast during a press event for The 6th Day in London. She claimed Walsh and Main libeled her in a Los Angeles Times article when they contended she encouraged his behavior.
caption: Code Pink protesting against Schwarzenegger
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