Responding to a Medium article written by a former aide to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo delineating many alleged occasions when she says he sexually harassed her, former Fox News anchor and current podcast host Megyn Kelly fired, “This is so damned brave of her. He is a disgusting bully.”
“I’m sure CNN will be all over this tonight — just as they aggressively covered any [allegations] made against male Fox News anchors/reporters,” Kelly added. “I mean, the Governor certainly outranks a journo when it comes to news value right?”
This is so damned brave of her. He is a disgusting bully.
I’m sure CNN will be all over this tonight – just as they aggressively covered any allegs made against male Fox News anchors/reporters. I mean, the Governor certainly outranks a journo when it comes to news value right? https://t.co/J3WDC9kbht— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) February 24, 2021
This is not the first time Kelly has targeted Cuomo.
In November, appearing on “The Howard Stern Show,” ostensibly to promote his new book, Cuomo proceeded to threaten President Trump, saying, “I bit my tongue so many times I have tongue scars. Here’s the trick, Howard. I want to speak to the better angels. I want to lift people up and I want to show Trump for what he is by opposition. I also had the practical situation: I needed him to help New York. That was my job. If I wasn’t Governor of New York, I would’ve decked him. Period. He was attacking me. He was attacking my family. He was anti-Italian. He was every nasty thing.”
Kelly seized the opportunity, swiping back, “Oh! Tough guy! How about you do an interview w/@Janice Dean to prove it? She’s so sweet — even wrote a book called ‘Mostly Sunny’ — what’s there to fear?”
Oh! Tough guy!! How about you do an interview w/@JaniceDean to prove it? She’s so sweet – even wrote a book called “Mostly Sunny” – what’s there to fear? https://t.co/2rG61cnOfo
— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) November 10, 2020
In the Medium article, former Cuomo aide Lindsey Boylan, who served as Vice President at Empire State Development in 2015 then segued to Chief of Staff at the state’s economic development agency, alleges a number of occasions when Cuomo sexually harassed her.
She writes, “I had complained to friends that the Governor would go out of his way to touch me on my lower back, arms and legs. His senior staff began keeping tabs on my whereabouts. ‘He is a sexist pig and you should avoid being alone with him!’ my mother texted me on November 4, 2016.”
Boylan mentions a plane flight in October 2017 when, she claims, she and Cuomo were seated “so close our knees almost touched” and Cuomo allegedly stated, “Let’s play strip poker.” Boylan adds, “His press aide was to my right and a state trooper behind us.”
“The Governor’s pervasive harassment extended beyond just me,” Boylan alleges. “He made unflattering comments about the weight of female colleagues. He ridiculed them about their romantic relationships and significant others. He said the reasons that men get women were ‘money and power.’ I tried to excuse his behavior. I told myself ‘it’s only words.’ But that changed after a one-on-one briefing with the Governor to update him on economic and infrastructure projects. We were in his New York City office on Third Avenue. As I got up to leave and walk toward an open door, he stepped in front of me and kissed me on the lips. I was in shock, but I kept walking.”
Boylan opines, “Governor Andrew Cuomo has created a culture within his administration where sexual harassment and bullying is so pervasive that it is not only condoned but expected. His inappropriate behavior toward women was an affirmation that he liked you, that you must be doing something right. He used intimidation to silence his critics. And if you dared to speak up, you would face consequences.”
Boylan writes that on the morning of December 13, after “enjoying a weekend with my husband and six-year-old daughter, I spontaneously decided to share a small part of the truth I had hidden for so long in shame and never planned to disclose. … In a few tweets, I told the world what a few close friends, family members and my therapist had known for years: Andrew Cuomo abused his power as Governor to sexually harass me, just as he had done with so many other women.”
“Parts of a supposed confidential personnel file (which I’ve never seen) were leaked to the media in an effort to smear me,” Boylan claims. “The Governor’s loyalists called around town, asking about me.”
Boylan concludes, “I am speaking up because I have the privilege to do so when many others do not. No one should have to be defined or destroyed by this kind of sexual harassment. Nor should they be revictimized if they decide to speak their own truth. I hope that sharing my story will clear the path for other women to do the same.”