‘What the F*ck!?’ New York Councilwoman Kissed by ‘Creepy’ Stranger During CBS Interview

Twitter/@HannahKliger

New York City Council Minority Whip Inna Vernikov was kissed by a stranger during a street interview with CBS New York on Thursday.

As Vernikov stood silently on a sidewalk and listened to the CBS reporter’s question, a stranger approached the councilwoman from behind and kissed her on the cheek before grinning and walking away.

“What the f*ck!?” reacted Vernikov in shock.

The incident was condemned by members of the New York City Council, both Democrat and Republican, who called for the perpetrator to be tracked down and brought to justice.

“This disgusting behavior is unfortunately all too common in the day to day lives of women,” reacted councilwoman Marjorie Velázquez. “We can not let sexual assault become a normalized part of our public interactions. I hope @NYPD can track this assailant down and bring swift justice.”

New York City Council Majority Leader Keith Powers condemned the “very gross behavior” in a post on Twitter, while councilman Erik Bottcher wrote, “This is totally unacceptable and the kind of thing that women have to deal with far too often, unfortunately. So sorry this happened.”

“This is abhorrent and disgusting. Hope the assailant is found. Sadly, this type of unacceptable behavior typically happens to women, even in 2023,” tweeted councilwoman Lynn Schulman, while councilmembers Robert Holden and Selvena Brooks-Powers also called out the “gross and scary” assault and wrote that it was not “funny in the slightest.”

Vernikov responded to the incident in a statement of her own, writing, “Not the kind of love I expect from constituents! Very creepy moment. Thanks to my colleagues for standing up for me!”