New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, 63, a Democrat, is facing sexual assault claims from his former aides Charlotte Bennett, 25, Lindsey Boylan, 36 and now a new public accusation from Anna Ruch, 33.
Boylan resigned in 2018 after she claimed Cuomo touched her inappropriately and gave her an unwanted kiss “on the lips” while alone in his office. Her claims reached the public Feb. 24.
When talking about the Cuomo administration and workplace, Boylan expressed that sexual harassment and bullying were overtly 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,” said Boylan in a Medium post.
The second woman to come forward, Bennett, published allegations on Feb. 27, where she stated that Cuomo questioned her about her sex life and whether she would be open for sexual relations with an older man.
“I understood that the governor wanted to sleep with me, and felt horribly uncomfortable and scared,” Bennett said during an interview with The Times. “[I] was wondering how I was going to get out of it and assumed it was the end of my job.”
Cuomo countered her claims by saying he made no such advances and that he was simply providing banter and teasing to the conversation with Bennett.
After voicing her allegations to Cuomo staff in June, Bennett was immediately transferred, and no repercussions were directed towards Cuomo.
Another woman, Anna Ruch, publicly claimed on March 1 that she also had a startling experience with Cuomo at a New York wedding reception back in September of 2019. She described the scenario and said that Cuomo touched her lower back, then placed his hands on her face, and asked if he could kiss her, which made Ruch extremely upset and embarrassed.
“I didn’t have a choice in his physical dominance over me at that moment. And that’s what infuriates me. And even with what I could do, removing his hand from my lower back, even doing that was not clear enough,” said Ruch in an interview.
Cuomo responded to the allegations and released a statement on March 1 expressing that he had no intention of making the women uncomfortable.
“At work, sometimes I think I am being playful and making jokes that I think are funny. I do, on occasion, tease people in what I think is a good-natured way. I do in public and in private … I now understand that my interactions may have been insensitive or too personal,” said Cuomo. “I acknowledge that some of the things I have said may have been misinterpreted as unwanted flirtation. I am truly sorry about that.”
Bennett has criticized the apology and said that Cuomo should take more responsibility for his actions. Many Democrats are in agreement that it was not a sincere apology and some have called for his resignation.
