Former Vice President Joe Biden regrets not giving Anita Hill the 'hearing she deserved'
NEW YORK -- Former Vice President Joe Biden is once again apologizing for the treatment Anita Hill received while publicly testifying against then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas.
“To this day, I regret I couldn’t come up with a way to get her the kind of hearing she deserved,” Biden said, while speaking to attendees at the Biden Courage Awards, which honored student heroes who’ve intervened to prevent sexual assault.
Hill accused Thomas of unwanted sexual misconduct when she worked for him in the 1980s. She made several allegations against Thomas including being pressured to go out with him socially, inappropriate remarks at work and discussing “pornographic materials.”
The law professor faced intense public scrutiny and was attacked by members of the Senate Judiciary Committee for coming forward against Thomas.
Her hearing was in front of an all-male panel of senators, which was headed by then-Senator Joe Biden, saying it “has an obligation to set a standard for the nation.”
“It should not be one of the most difficult places for women to lay out a story of abuse and harassment,” Biden said.
Biden added after seeing what women like Anita Hill endured, he said it’s understandable that other women would find it difficult to step forward to tell their stories of harassment and abuse.
He said when Hill testified, “she faced a committee that didn’t fully understand what the hell it was all about.”
“There were a bunch of white guys,” Biden said about the committee.
After leaving the White House and amid the “Me Too” movement, Biden first expressed some regrets about the Hill hearings during a 2017 interview with Teen Vogue.
"I wish I had been able to do more for Anita Hill. I owe her an apology," Biden said in the interview.
ABC News has reached out to the former vice president's spokesman to ask whether he has since apologized directly to Hill, but our inquiry was not immediately returned.
During the awards ceremony Tuesday, Biden noted the lack of change in culture over the last three decades in regards to sexual assault.
“Last fall you saw it all over again in the Kavanaugh hearing,” said Biden when referencing accusations and testimony against then Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in late 2018.
Kavanaugh vehemently denied the allegations.
During his speech, Biden repeatedly acknowledged how brave Hill was for coming forward to “tell her story.”
“We all have an obligation to do nothing less than to change the culture in this country,” said Biden.
After public testimony against Kavanaugh and Thomas, both were confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
