A New York City councilwoman found herself on the receiving end of an unexpected and ‘creepy’ kiss from a stranger during a TV interview with CBS New York.
A video posted to Twitter Thursday shows Councilwoman Inna Vernikov, R-NY., stood for an interview on Brighton Beach in Brooklyn when a man wearing a hat seemingly comes out of nowhere and plants a kiss on her cheek.
“What the f***?” Vernikov said, turning her head to look at the man, who walked away with a smile on his face.
Vernikov later shared video of the assault, calling it a “very creepy moment.”
“Not the kind of love I expect from constituents!” Vernikov wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Fellow council members came to Vernikov’s defense.
“This disgusting behavior is unfortunately all too common in the day to day lives of women,” tweeted Councilwoman Marjorie Velazquez, D-NY. “We can not let sexual assault become a normalized part of our public interactions.”
“This isn’t funny in the slightest,” wrote Councilman Robert Holden, D-NY. “It’s amazing how many creeps are walking the streets!”
There is no complaint report on file regarding the incident, according to the NYPD.
Vernikov is the councilwoman for the 48th district of New York, which includes Brighton Beach, Manhattan Beach and Sheepshead Bay.
Raised in Brooklyn in a family of Ukrainian immigrants, Vernikov went on to become a small business owner and a lawyer.
She assumed office in 2021.