Doug Emhoff rep denies claim second gentleman slapped then-girlfriend at 2012 Cannes Film Festival

Second gentleman Doug Emhoff has denied a shocking report that he slapped his then-girlfriend more than a decade ago after thinking she was flirting with another man.

“This report is untrue,” an Emhoff spokesperson told Semafor, adding that “any suggestion that he would or ever hit a woman is false.”

The Daily Mail reported Wednesday, citing three friends of the unidentified woman, that Emhoff smacked his then-lover so hard in the face that she was “spun around” after an event at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival in France.

One of the woman’s friends told the outlet that she called him “sobbing” after the attack.

“It was hard to hear her,” he recalled. “She told me she was with a guy and he hit her.”

“It was very clear what she was telling me. She said she was with a guy, her date, she was at the Cannes Film Festival, and he hit her. She was in the car with the guy at the time.”

“I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t know whether to call the French police. I couldn’t get a hold of her after calling back.”

The friend said that Emhoff may have thought his girlfriend was flirting with a valet employee after she put her hand on his shoulder following a night of drinking.

The girlfriend, described as a “successful New York attorney” by the Daily Mail, apparently slapped Emhoff back, the friend said.

The friends provided photos and other interactions between Emhoff and the former girlfriend to the Daily Mail to corroborate their story.

Emhoff and Harris began their relationship in 2013, one year after the incident, and married in 2014.

This is a developing story. Please check back for more updates.