9th Cuomo accuser releases photo of unwanted kiss
Sherry Vill, the ninth woman accusing New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment, provided a photo of the incident.
Gloria Allred said Tuesday she has been in touch with New York Attorney General Letitia James' office regarding allegations her client Sherry Vill has made against Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Vill said at a press conference Sunday that Cuomo behaved in a "highly flirtatious and inappropriate manner" while he surveyed flood damage at her home in 2017. She claimed that he told her she was beautiful, grabbed her face, and kissed her cheeks without permission.
NY WOMAN SHERRY VILL ACCUSES CUOMO OF UNWANTED KISS IN 2017
Cuomo has denied any wrongdoing.
"For years she wanted to report what Governor Cuomo did to her, but some members of her family discouraged her from filing a complaint, because they wanted to protect her and feared that if she made what happened to her public that the governor might use his power to retaliate against her and her family," Allred said at the press conference.
Allred told Fox News following the event that she contacted the state attorney general's office. She said investigators later responded and indicated that they wanted to interview Vill regarding her allegations.
The allegations are similar to a claim made by Anna Ruch, who said Cuomo grabbed her face and asked to kiss her at a wedding in 2019. Cuomo defended this as a "customary" way that he greets people.
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"You can find hundreds of pictures of me making the same gesture with hundreds of people, women, men, children, etc., Cuomo said in early March. "You can go find hundreds of pictures of me kissing people. Men, women, it is my usual and customary way of greeting."
Vill and Allred shared such a photo at the virtual press event.
Attorney Gloria Allred showed these photos during a virtual press conference with Cuomo accuser Sherry Vill on Monday, March 29, 2021.
Vill insisted, however, that this was not a simply greeting.
"I know the difference between an innocent gesture and a sexual one," she said. "I never felt as uncomfortable as I did the day Governor Cuomo came to my house. His actions were very overly sexual, highly inappropriate and disrespectful to me and my family."
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Cuomo's attorney, Rita Glavin, pushed back on the allegation that the governor behaved inappropriately during the visit, arguing that he often greets people with hugs and kisses as a gesture of "comfort." She shared a link to photos that showed the governor interacting with other local residents on the day of the alleged incident.
"During times of crisis, the Governor has frequently sought to comfort New Yorkers with hugs and kisses," Glavin said in a statement. "As I have said before, the Governor has greeted both men and women with hugs, a kiss on the cheek, forehead or hand for the past forty years."
Fox News' Tara Prindiville and Evie Fordham contributed to this report.
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