The ex-wife of Labor Secretary nominee Andy Puzder said in a 1990 episode of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” that he was emotionally abusive to her during their divorce but was ambiguous as to whether there had been physical violence in their marriage. Fierstein has since disavowed the appearance on the show.
“Most men who are in positions like that don’t leave marks. The damage that I sustained you can’t see. It’s permanent damage, but there are no marks. And there never was. They don’t hit you in the face. They’re too smart. They don’t hit you in front of everyone,” said Lisa Fierstein, who appeared on the program in a wig and under an alias.
The tape was acquired by Politico and posted online Wednesday. Puzder, currently chief executive of CKE Restaurants, which owns the Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. franchises, has his first Senate hearing scheduled for Thursday.
The quarter-century old comments are likely to be a major subject of the hearing. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., tweeted Wednesday: “#Puzder’s confirmation would send a deeply harmful message to women about how this Administration views them & their contributions.”
Democrats and many liberal groups fiercely oppose the outspoken conservative’s nomination, with several vowing to take him down. One liberal watchdog group, Campaign for Accountability, appeared at a Missouri court Tuesday, petitioning to unseal the file from the couple’s 1989 divorce. The judge has yet to rule on the request.
Fierstein has told the committee that she falsely made the charges of domestic violence due to both anger over their break-up and to gain leverage in the divorce.
“First, let me be clear. Andy is not and was not abusive or violent. He is a good, loving, kind man and a deeply committed and loving father,” she said in a letter dated Jan. 18 that was sent to Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Sen. Patty Murray, the committee’s top Democrat.
“I wish with all of my heart that I could take back those moments of anger and rage. I deeply regret many of the decisions I made while young and hurt and misled by faulty advice of someone I trusted. I wish instead that I could tell you about Andy and his compassion, kindness and generosity,” she wrote. “The fact that my attorney used ‘adult abuse’ as a vehicle to gain leverage in our divorce proceedings has haunted me as well as our children to this day.”
The Oprah appearance, she said, was the result of becoming “caught up in the notion of a free trip to Chicago and being a champion of women’s issues.”
In the 1990 Oprah appearance, Fierstein is clearly angry over the outcome of the divorce, stating: “I wound up losing everything, everything. I have nothing. He has a Porsche and a Mercedes-Benz. He has the home. He has everything. He was an attorney, and he knew how to play the system.”
She said Puzder vowed “revenge” on her because he was public figure. “He said, ‘I will see you in the gutter. This will never be over. You will pay for this.'”
A spokesman for Puzder could not be reached for comment, nor could Fierstein’s attorney.
