A rep for second gentleman Doug Emhoff on Thursday denied a British tabloid report that he slapped his then-girlfriend during the Cannes Film Festival in 2012.

“This report is untrue,” the spokesperson told the news site Semafor. “Any suggestion that he would or has ever hit a woman is false.”

Emhoff, who has been supporting his wife, Vice President Kamala Harris, on the presidential campaign trail, allegedly hit the unnamed woman so hard that she “spun around,” the Daily Mail reported Wednesday. The article cited three friends of hers who said they were familiar with the incident.

Emhoff may have lashed out in a fit of jealousy, the friends said, over a perceived flirtation by the woman toward a valet. She reportedly slapped Emhoff back. The alleged victim declined to speak to the outlet.