Kellyanne Conway Couch Incident: Chelsea Clinton Defends Trump Adviser After Jokes From Sen. Tim Scott, Congressman

UPDATE: 1:56 p.m. EST - Top White House adviser Kellyanne Conway thanked Chelsea Clinton for coming to her aide on Twitter earlier Friday after a U.S. Senator and Congressman made untoward jokes about how Conway sat on an Oval Office couch.

Clinton, daughter of former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary, earlier tweeted that Conway was owed a proper apology from Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Rep. Cedric L. Richmond (D. La.), who had made references to former President Bill Clinton’s sex scandal with intern Monica Lewinsky almost two decades ago.

Clinton admitted she “never thought” she would come to Conway’s defense.

Original Story:

Embattled White House adviser Kellyanne Conway received some support and defense from an unlikely source Friday: Chelsea Clinton. Conway, who faced criticism this week for kneeling on an Oval Office couch while President Donald Trump held an audience with leaders from historically black colleges earlier this week, found herself the subject of lewd jokes at Wednesday’s Washington Press Club Foundation’s annual awards dinner and Clinton would not have it.

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) made a joke linking the sofa to former President Bill Clinton’s sex scandal with then-intern Monica Lewinsky in the late 1990s, saying that “a whole lot worse” had occurred on the couch, according to the Washington Post.

From there, Rep. Cedric L. Richmond (D. La.) followed later by saying: “Tim, you kind of opened the door. I really just want to know what was going on there, because, you know, I won’t tell anybody. And you can just explain to me that circumstance — because she really looked kind of familiar in that position there. Don’t answer — and I don’t want you to refer back to the 1990s.”

The Post reported that Richmond’s joke didn’t exactly elicit roars of laughter from the audience.

Richmond later issued a statement about the joke, BuzzFeed News reported, but Clinton wanted an apology and even admitted she “never thought” she’d come to Conway’s defense.

Conway, who helped defeat Clinton’s mother Hillary by crafting campaign strategy for Trump during last year’s presidential election, had said Tuesday that “meant no disrespect” by her posture.

"I was being asked to take a picture in a crowded room with the press behind us, and I was asked to take a certain angle and was doing exactly that," Conway said during a Fox Business interview. " I certainly meant no disrespect. I didn't mean to have my feet on the couch."

Conway's time in the White House has been marred by controversies. She has received criticism for her comments about the “Bowling Green Massacre” which never occurred and for using the phrase "alternative facts."

Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify a comment made by Rep. Tim Scott as first reported by the Washington Post.