New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s former aide has accused him of sexual harassment and intimidation. Former chief of staff at the New York’s state economic agency, Lindsey Boylan, expanded her initial allegations through an essay posted on the online publishing platform Medium on Wednesday.
In her essay, Boylan alleged that Cuomo went “out of his way” to inappropriately touch her and at one point kissed her during a one-on-one meeting. Boylan said that Cuomo took an “uncomfortable” interest in her that was apparent since the first day she was hired.
“My boss soon informed me that the Governor had a ‘crush’ on me,” Boylan said.
Boylan claimed that Cuomo told her that she looked like her rumored ex-girlfriend, Lisa Shields. She said that Cuomo had started to call her “Lisa” in front of their colleagues, an act she said was very “degrading.”
“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,” Boylan said.
Yes, @NYGovCuomo sexually harassed me for years. Many saw it, and watched.
I could never anticipate what to expect: would I be grilled on my work (which was very good) or harassed about my looks. Or would it be both in the same conversation? This was the way for years.— Lindsey Boylan (@LindseyBoylan) December 13, 2020
During his regularly scheduled press conference, Cuomo denied Boylan’s accusations. He said that her allegations were not true and that he is an advocate of women’s rights.
“I fought for and I believe a woman has the right to come forward and express her opinion and express issues and concerns that she has. But it’s just not true,” Cuomo said.
Cuomo’s press secretary, Caitlin Girouard, said Wednesday that Boylan’s claims of inappropriate behavior were all false. She added that some of Boylan’s recollections simply could not be true as they do not match her and Cuomo’s whereabouts when the alleged acts occurred.
As an example, Girouard said that Boylan’s claim that Cuomo had harassed her during a flight on the governor’s jet could not be true as the flight logs did not reflect her being on the same flight in 2017.
Boylan’s accusations against Cuomo have sparked outrage amongst female politicians, who have called for his resignation. New York Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik said that Cuomo should step down and any elected official that protects him is “complicit” in his actions.
