Cuomo harassment allegations 'sickened me,' de Blasio says
'Sexual harassment is not funny,' NYC mayor said. '... [W]ho the hell tries to explain that by saying I was just joking around?'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio did not mince words when talking about the sexual harassment allegations surrounding embattled Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
During a Monday interview with New York City radio station Hot 97, de Blasio was asked about the recent allegations surrounding his state’s governor. The New York City mayor said the allegations "sickened" him.
He also called for a "full investigation" into the allegations against Cuomo, saying the governor’s behavior was "disgusting" and "creepy" if true.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It sickened me, it sickened me," said de Blasio. "The thought of a powerful man trying to take advantage of his power, intimidate a young woman and just the sense that he was treating her like — again these are allegations and we need a full investigation — but if that was what truly happened it was like he was treating her like she was his property. Just disgusting, creepy."
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De Blasio went on to criticize Cuomo’s Sunday statement regarding the sexual harassment allegations, in which the governor claimed he "sometimes" believed he was "being playful" at work and "made jokes" he considered "funny."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Sexual harassment is not funny," the New York City mayor said, asking, "Who the hell tries to explain that by saying I was just joking around?"
"I've seen him be abusive in a way that would not be accepted by anyone in leadership," the mayor said in the interview. He also said he had previously heard the governor use similar language he allegedly used with Assemblyman Ron Kim in a now-infamous phone call.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Cuomo has been accused by two former aides — Charlotte Bennett and Lindsey Boylan — of sexually harassing them while they were employed by him. The allegations come amid the nursing home scandal facing down his administration.
On Sunday, de Blasio called on the New York state legislature to revoke Cuomo’s emergency powers amid the scandals.