The married woman who Donald Trump described trying to "move on like a bitch" in the leaked audio recording has addressed the controversy on national television.
Nancy O'Dell, the host of nightly US program Entertainment Tonight, said she had been thrown into a situation she never wanted to be part of after The Washington Post released the video on Friday, declaring there was "no room for the objectification of women".
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Nancy O'Dell breaks silence on Trump
Entertainment Tonight journalist Nancy O'Dell, whom Donald Trump stated he had 'moved on her like a bitch' has spoken out.
"I'm sure that most of you have heard the audiotape which became national news and part of the presidential race," O'Dell, 50, said, opening the program.
"My name was mentioned and, unfortunately, the release of it has thrown me into the middle of the political arena of which I didn't ask to be a part.
"I released a statement on Saturday and I truly mean what I said. There is no room for the objectification of women, or anyone for that matter - not even in the locker room. The conversation has got to change because everybody deserves respect.
"As a mum, I have to add that our kids, especially our young girls, need to know that their hard work, their achievements, their intelligence, their heart, is most important and those things will not go unnoticed."
In the leaked video from 2005 which surfaced on Friday, Republican nominee Donald Trump tells then Access Hollywood host Billy Bush how he tried to "f---" a married woman he referred to as Nancy.
In the tape he also boasts about being able to use him fame to kiss women and grab them "by the pussy".
O'Dell was Billy Bush's Access Hollywood colleague at the time.
"I moved on her and I failed," Trump told Bush, who has since been suspended indefinitely from his hosting duties on Today.
"In fact, I took her out furniture shopping. She wanted to get some furniture. I said, 'I'll show you where they have some nice furniture'."
"I moved on her like a bitch, but I couldn't get there. And she was married."
Trump dismissed the video as "locker room talk" but in a statement on Friday, objectified O'Dell said she was "saddened that these comments still exist in our society at all."
"Everyone deserves respect no matter the setting or gender. As a woman who has worked very hard to establish her career, and as a mom [sic], I feel I must speak out with the hope that as a society we will always strive to be better."
The Republican Party has abandoned Trump in droves in the wake of the leak, while his poll standing is on the slide.
The tycoon has dropped 3.1 points nationally since October 2, giving Clinton a 6 point lead, according to Real Clear Politics' survey of all state polls.
It's a far cry from the narrow 0.9 point margin Clinton led by just under one month ago.
Since the release of the decade-old tape, several prominent Republicans have also called on Trump to drop out of the race.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, the top Republican in Congress, said he would no longer support or campaign for Trump. In a series of tweets, Trump fired-back at Ryan, calling him disloyal, weak and ineffective.
Melania Trump also distanced herself from her husband's comments, saying they were "unacceptable and offensive to me."
Our very weak and ineffective leader, Paul Ryan, had a bad conference call where his members went wild at his disloyalty.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 11, 2016
Disloyal R's are far more difficult than Crooked Hillary. They come at you from all sides. They don’t know how to win - I will teach them!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 11, 2016