LONDON (AP) - The American businesswoman at the heart of a scandal over her links to U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has refused to say whether they had an intimate relationship, insisting their private lives are no one’s business.

Jennifer Arcuri told ITV on Monday that she and Johnson bonded over their “mutual love of classic literature,” and refused to answer questions about whether they had an affair.

The technology entrepreneur says that “because the press have made me this objectified ex-model pole dancer, I am really not going to answer that question. I am not going to be putting myself in a position for you to weaponize my answer.”

Arcuri says she never received money or favorable treatment because of their friendship during Johnson’s time as mayor of London.

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