Justice Clarence Thomas was ‘obsessed’ with porn, former girlfriend says

By John Byrne Speaking out after 19 years, the former girlfriend of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas says he was "obsessed" with porn and women's breast sizes, the same week the justice's wife called one of his former employees to demand an apology for testimony during his 1991 nomination hearings.

Thomas' former girlfriend, Lillian McEwen, broke her silence after Thomas' wife, Virginia, called Anita Hill, who Thomas had supervised, to demand an apology.

"He was obsessed with porn," McEwen told The Washington Post for Friday editions. "He would talk about what he had seen in magazines and films, if there was something worth noting."

"McEwen added that she had no problem with Thomas's interests, although she found pornography to be 'boring,'" Post reporter Michael Fletcher wrote.

"He was always actively watching the women he worked with to see if they could be potential partners," McEwen, 65, was quoted as saying. "It was a hobby of his.

According to McEwen, Thomas would also tell her about women he encountered at work. He was partial to women with large breasts, she said. In an instance at work, Thomas was so impressed that he asked one woman her bra size, McEwen recalled him telling her.

Presented with some of McEwen's assertions, Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said Thomas was unavailable for comment.

Fletcher notes that McEwen's claims seem to align with comments made by other women who surrounded the now-Supreme Court Justice.

Angela Wright, who in 1984 worked as public affairs director at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission -- which polices sexual harassment claims -- during Thomas's long tenure as chairman, shared similar accounts with Senate investigators.

Once, when walking into an EEOC seminar with Thomas, he asked her, "What size are your breasts?" according to the transcript of her Senate interview.

Her story was corroborated by a former EEOC speechwriter, who told investigators that Wright had become increasingly uneasy around Thomas because of his comments about her appearance.

Also of note, though, is that McEwen's timing coincides with the fact that she is "shopping" a memoir to publishers.

"I have nothing to be afraid of," McEwen told Fletcher, "adding that she hopes the attention stokes interest in her manuscript."