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Elizabeth Smart Slams Donald Trump’s ‘Locker-Room Talk’ Excuse: ‘There’s No Justifying It — Ever’

Elizabeth Smart and Donald Trump
Elizabeth Smart and Donald TrumpPeter Kramer/NBC/NBC NewsWire via Getty Images / Brian Blanco/Getty Images

Activist and former abductee Elizabeth Smart slammed Donald Trump for brushing off his lewd comments about assaulting women as "locker-room talk," during a new interview with The Salt Lake Tribune.

"It's terrifying. I don't really see the world getting any better," she told the newspaper on Wednesday, October 12.

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Smart, 28, made headlines nationwide when she was abducted from her family home in Salt Lake City in June 2002 at the age of 14. She was held in captivity by Brian David Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee, for nine months before being rescued by police. During those months, Smart was repeatedly raped and threatened with death.

Now the activist says Trump's crass remarks could cause emotional harm to sexual assault survivors.

"The worst part about it is listening to people trying to belittle it, just saying, 'Well, it's locker-room talk, it's locker-room banter,'" Smart told The Salt Lake Tribune. "Anyone belittling sexual violence, sexual abuse, they're doing a huge disservice to victims of violent crimes, violent sexual abuse. There's no justifying it — ever."

Related: PHOTOS: Donald Trump's Most Offensive and Outrageous Quotes

Smart also pointed out the damaging effects of rape culture, saying that people need to be educated about consent.

"Especially for girls in Utah, that would be great, because I know I was raised to be kind, to be polite," she explained. "You didn't say no, you only said yes. I wish the word no was emphasized. No is a good word to say every now and again, especially when it comes to your personal well-being."

The ABC News contributor, who is now married to Matthew Gilmour and is mom of 20-month-old daughter Chloe, continued: "When I was first raped, I didn't realize there was a difference between rape and sex. Immediately, in my little 14-year-old mind when that happened, I thought, I'm impure. Who will ever want to marry me now? If my parents knew what happened, would they even want me back, or would they think, Good thing we had six kids 'cause we still have five others?"

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As Us Weekly previously reported, Trump, 70, was caught bragging about hitting on a married woman, later identified as Nancy O'Dell, and grabbing women "by the p–sy," in a leaked video from a 2005 chat with former Access Hollywood cohost Billy Bush.

Since the clip was released on October 7, multiple women have come forward with allegations that the Republican presidential candidate sexually assaulted them over the past 30 years. Trump has repeatedly denied the claims, and has stated his comments were merely "locker-room talk."

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