File Ben Stein's sexting scandal under "Stranger than Anthony Weiner." Fox regular Ben Stein, a married man best known for his role in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, has been accused of sexting a 24-year old, pregnant woman. Said woman sent the texts to the New York Post. Unless they are forgeries - which Stein has not alleged - they look pretty damning to me.

From the Post's Page Six:

Ben Stein wrote in a bizarre magazine column last month that he’s still like a hormone-crazed teen who gets “mad crushes” on every beautiful woman he meets.

But one woman targeted by the supposedly harmless Stein told Page Six on Monday that the 69-year-old married grandfather is nothing but a manipulative leech who gave her money — and then begged to “touch” her even though she’s pregnant.

Probably the most damning of Stein's alleged texts published is the one that read: "When you get here i want to hug and kiss you. I understand you don’t want to f–k me. But i want to touch you and kiss you."

 He also asked for "more sexy pics." I'll also say that the woman, a so-called "performance artist" who admits to having been an escort, strikes me as something of a grifter as the texts also show her asking Stein for money.

Although Stein is probably most widely known for his comedy, he's an economist who appears regularly on Fox News' business shows.

The sexts were published on July 21. Since then, Stein has made what looks very much like a non-denial denial. From SFGate.com's Daily Dish:

He compares the story to an episode of comedy show “Monty Python’s Flying Circus,” and saying to the New York Post’s Page Six, “She is a person I have only met for less than five minutes at an airport. I have never touched her, I have never had any sexual contact with her.

“I should get a medal for helping this woman. This is a person who appealed to me for money. She said she would send me some examples of her performance art. Some of those examples were racy, and some were not. I just don’t get what I have done wrong. She is mad at me because she wanted more money. … I didn’t expect anything from her.”

What he does not appear to have said: "I never sent those sexts."

Stein shrugs the whole thing off as a non-story in a lengthy post on The American Spetator in which he explained meeting the woman and giving her money as a benefactor.

Anyway, as I told Page Six, I hardly hold myself out as a saint. I do many things that are not ideal and always have and probably always will. I am not kidding. 

But my main sin in this case was being beguiled by this young woman whom I thought was my friend, as I had been her benefactor. I guess my other sin was not realizing that a story need have no merit at all for it to be picked up by a gossip column. I really am way too gullible.

Anyway, there is not even the faintest allegation that I ever saw this woman again after our brief meet and greet at SFO and I simply do not see what this is about except that “no good deed goes unpunished.

Well, at least he didn't claim his account had been hacked.

Ben Stein: creepo or good guy done wrong? I report, you decide.

(H/T Addicting Info)

photo credit: Haonavy via photopin cc