The report from New York Attorney General Letitia James’s office was devastating and clear: Gov. Andrew Cuomo has a long history of sexually harassing women, many of whom were his own employees. Don’t let Cuomo gaslight you into thinking differently.
Cuomo is refusing to resign despite calls from Democratic leaders across the country, including President Joe Biden, for him to step down. He is also trying to act as though the report released this week is not nearly as damning as it appears because it fails to contextualize his actions.
“The facts are much different than what has been portrayed,” Cuomo said on Tuesday. “I never touched anyone inappropriately or made inappropriate sexual advances. That is just not who I am, and that’s just not who I’ve ever been.”
Specifically, Cuomo claimed that his inappropriate behavior toward Charlotte Bennett, his former executive assistant, only came out of a place of concern. Bennett’s past as a sexual assault survivor “resonated deeply” with Cuomo because he aided a family member through a similar situation, he said.
“I did ask her questions I don’t normally ask people,” he said. “They read into comments that I made and drew inferences that I never meant.”
In other words, Cuomo is trying to say that Bennett was too stupid to understand the difference between sexual harassment and mentorship. This is a prime example of victim-blaming — and one that no reasonable person should tolerate.
To be clear, this is what Cuomo said to Bennett, according to the investigation published this week: He became fixated on her experience as a survivor of sexual assault and kept repeating, “‘You were raped and abused and attacked and assaulted and betrayed,’ over and over again while looking me directly in the eyes,” Bennett recalled in a text message to a friend sent shortly after the interaction with Cuomo. He also asked for the details of her assault, and at one point commented, ‘Well, some people have it much worse.’ Cuomo later asked Bennett questions about whether she was romantically involved with anyone, and whether she had ever had sex with older men, the investigation confirmed.
Many of the other interactions Cuomo had with Bennett confirm he was not just a father figure looking out for her. A mentor does not suggest that a woman get a tattoo on her butt. He does not ask her if she has piercings anywhere other than her ears. He does not repeatedly ask about her love life or make suggestive comments about his own romantic endeavors.
Cuomo did all of these things but is now claiming this behavior was just part of the job. After displaying multiple photos of himself hugging, kissing, and touching people at public events throughout his time in office, Cuomo said any behavior that could be considered inappropriate was not meant to harass but to “convey warmth, nothing more.”
“I actually learned it from my mother and from my father. … I do it with everyone: black and white, young and old, straight and LGBTQ, powerful people, friends, strangers, people who I meet on the street,” Cuomo said. “I do kiss people on the forehead. … I do embrace people. I do hug people, men and women. I do, on occasion, say, ‘Ciao, bella.’ On occasion, I do slip and say, ‘Sweetheart.’ … I am the same person in public as I am in private.”
Again, it does not matter how warm and receiving Cuomo was in public or in private. It does not matter that he comes from an overly affectionate Italian family. None of this excuses the sexually explicit comments and inappropriate physical advances detailed in James’s investigation.
Cuomo deserves to be criminally investigated and removed from office. Maybe then he’ll be forced to take responsibility for the hurt he caused.
