Presidential hopeful Herman Cain, already facing allegations of sexual harassment from four women, was caught joking about Anita Hill during a campaign stop this week.
A college professor, Hill infamously became the poster woman for such claims when she made them 20 years ago about Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas.
A Fox News camera caught Cain laughing about Hill during a campaign visit to Kalamazoo, Mich., Thursday, when a supporter brought up the professor’s name.
“You hear the latest news today? Anita Hill is going to come …” a man told Cain. “Is she going to endorse me?” Cain joked, as he and the crowd laughed heartily …
Herman Cain insisted later that he wasn’t trying to insult Hill.
“We walked into this room and … one of my supporters said, ‘Anita Hill was trying to contact you’ and my response was, ‘Is she going to endorse me?'” he said.
“He said it in a humorous way. I gave a humorous response.”
The Republican continues to fend off allegations that he sexually harassed four women when he was head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s.
Karen Kraushaar allegedly received a settlement to leave the group along with another woman. Sharon Bialek alleges Cain tried to grope her at a later date.
Joking about Hill, while essentially harmless, is not likely to help Cain, who some say has been less than forthcoming, shake the story that has dogged him for weeks.
How will the sexual harassment allegations impact Cain?