Nancy Mace says she would not recommend women come forward about sexual assault: 'You will not get justice. You will not get an investigation.'

Rep. Nancy Mace, who first disclosed publicly that she was raped at age 16 in an April 24, 2019 South Carolina House floor speech, said in an interview published August 30, 2026 that she would not recommend other women come forward about sexual assault. "You will not get justice," she told journalist Tara Palmeri. "You will not get an investigation, no matter how much evidence you give."

The interview aired as Mace was explaining her fifth-place finish in the South Carolina Republican gubernatorial primary. Palmeri, founder of The Tara Palmeri Show, published the conversation to YouTube on August 30, 2026; her written account of it ran in her newsletter, The Red Letter, on September 1, 2026.

Her words

"I've learned now that coming forward, I don't know that I would recommend women come forward, because you're not going to get what you seek out of it. You will not get justice. You will not get an investigation, no matter how much evidence you give. I think it would be a miracle for any woman who does come forward about some kind of assault or some kind of behavior that's Epstein-like, uh, sexual predator type behavior. Uh, good luck. Um, they're going to pat you on the back and send you along your way, cuz they're just like, 'Oh, it's just sour grapes. It's just he said, she said.' And, you know, shrug. No big deal. Boys being boys, girls being girls, you know, whatever."

Rep. Nancy Mace, Tara Palmeri Show, August 30, 2026 (at 15:05)

The full statement begins at approximately 15:05 in the interview.

Context

Mace first disclosed publicly that she was raped at 16 in an April 24, 2019 speech on the South Carolina House floor during the "fetal heartbeat" abortion bill debate, and it has since become a central part of her political identity. Since winning election to South Carolina's 1st Congressional District, she positioned herself repeatedly as a champion for sexual assault survivors and championed legislation related to women's safety.

In the September 1 interview, the passage in which she said she would not recommend coming forward immediately followed a discussion of her own experience and of what she described as the lack of accountability for figures like Jeffrey Epstein. Mace characterized the system's response to women who report assault as institutional dismissal: officials "pat you on the back and send you along your way," she said, treating allegations as "'just sour grapes.'"

Mace did not specify who or what institution she was referring to. Her comment came in the context of discussing "Epstein-like sexual predator type behavior." She concluded the passage: "I think that's a cultural problem that we have in this country."

No one from Mace's office had issued a response to the statement as of publication.

Watch

The full Tara Palmeri Show interview is available on YouTube. The "wouldn't recommend" statement begins at 15:05:

Sources

• Tara Palmeri Show, "MACE ON BEING MACE," YouTube, August 30, 2026 (primary source; statement at 15:05)
• The Tara Palmeri Show: tarapalmeri.com
• Mace's original 2020 disclosure: FITSNews, October 2020