New York Democrat Governor Andrew Cuomo responded to sexual misconduct allegations made against him by a former advisor over the weekend by saying that women have “the right” to “express their opinion” but that the allegations were not true.
Cuomo commented on the allegations during a coronavirus press conference where he was asked questions about the topic by two reporters.
“Yeah, I heard about the tweet and what it said about comments that I had made and it’s not true,” Cuomo said. “Look, I fought for and I believe a woman has the right to come forward and express her opinion and express issues and concerns that she has, but it’s just not true.”
The allegations against Cuomo were made by one of his former advisers, progressive activist Lindsey Boylan. Boylan made the allegation on Twitter in a series of tweets on her experience with sexual harassment.
“Yes, @NYGovCuomo sexually harassed me for years. Many saw it, and watched,” she said. “I could never anticipate what to expect: would I be grilled on my work (which was very good) or harassed about my looks. Or would it be both in the same conversation? This was the way for years.”
“Not knowing what to expect what’s the most upsetting part aside from knowing that no one would do a damn thing even when they saw it. No one. And I *know* I am not the only woman,” she continued. “I’m angry to be put in this situation at all. That because I am a woman, I can work hard my whole life to better myself and help others and yet still fall victim as countless women over generations have. Mostly silently. I hate that some men, like @NYGovCuomo abuse their power.”
Cuomo was later asked by a separate reporter if he ever made remarks about Boylan’s looks, to which he responded: “On the tweets, I totally respect a woman’s right, fought for a woman’s right to express any concern, any issue that she has in the workplace. I support that. But the tweets were simply not true.”
The New York Times reported:
Ms. Boylan recently launched a campaign for Manhattan borough president, following a failed bid to unseat Representative Jerrold Nadler on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.
Before running for Congress, Ms. Boylan, 36, worked as a deputy secretary for economic development and as a special adviser to the governor, according to her LinkedIn page.
She has been a frequent critic of Mr. Cuomo and has long hinted at tensions with the governor’s office on social media. In 2019, Ms. Boylan, whose daughter was 5 at the time, tangled with a former Cuomo aide, Jim Malatras, about the extent to which the office accommodated working parents.
“I have no interest in talking to journalists,” Boylan added on Twitter. “I am about validating the experience of countless women and making sure abuse stops. My worst fear is that this continues.”