President George H.W. Bush explained on Wednesday why he has occasionally touched woman’s butts during photo ops.

A spokesman for Bush released the remarks one day after actress Heather Lind said he groped her behind as they posed for a picture a few years ago.

“At age 93, President Bush has been confined to a wheelchair for roughly five years, so his arm falls on the lower waist of people with whom he takes pictures,” the statement read.

“To try to put people at ease, the president routinely tells the same joke — and on occasion, he has patted women’s rears in what he intended to be a good-natured manner.

“Some have seen it as innocent; others clearly view it as inappropriate. To anyone he has offended, President Bush apologizes most sincerely.”

Lind gave a long detailed account of the incident on Instagram Tuesday.

“He touched me from behind from his wheelchair with his wife Barbara Bush by his side. He told me a dirty joke. And then, all the while being photographed, he touched me again,” Lind wrote on Instagram.

She later deleted the post.