OPRAH

Video: Labor Nominee Puzder ‘Vowed Revenge’ on Ex-Wife

After she alleged abuse.

The ex-wife of Andrew Puzder, President Trump’s nominee for labor secretary, told The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1990 that he had “vowed revenge” against her when she said she would publicize her allegations of spousal abuse. Tape of the episode, featuring Lisa Fierstein, was obtained by Politico. Puzder’s hearing for labor secretary is Thursday. As part of her appearance on Oprah, Fierstein wore a disguise and used a pseudonym. Her episode was titled “High-Class Battered Women.” She told Winfrey that Puzder told her, “I will see you in the gutter. This will never be over. You will pay for this.” Fierstein said she called the police on her then-husband. The couple divorced in 1987. She later retracted the allegations of domestic abuse during the couple’s child-custody negotiations and as part of their divorce agreement. She does not discuss the details of the physical-abuse allegations in the video, but two years earlier Fierstein filed a petition accusing Puzder of assaulting her and “striking me violently about the face, chest, back, shoulders and neck, without provocation or cause.” According to Fierstein, the violence caused “bruises and contusions to the chest, back, shoulders, and neck” and “two ruptured discs and two bulging discs.” The petition was dismissed because the couple’s divorce agreement had already been settled. “I wound up losing everything, everything,” Fierstein said to Winfrey. “I have nothing. He has a Porsche and a Mercedes-Benz. He has the home. He has everything. He was an attorney and he knew how to play the system.” Later, Fierstein said she regretted her decision to appear on the program.

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