Governor Cuomo issued an apology on Sunday where he tried to explain his stance over recent sexual harassment allegations.
Cuomo spoke about how his workplace jokes were wrongly misinterpreted as ‘unwanted flirtation.’ The recent array of statements comes as the governor’s office caved on a request by the state attorney general for appointing an investigator to probe out claims.
The New York governor mentioned how he likes to think that he’s being playful at work. For that reason, he tends to make jokes that he believes are funny. “Occasionally, I do tease people in a good-natured way,” he mentioned through a prepared statement.
But the governor appeared very serious with his apology, making claims about how he understands his interactions may be called out as insensitive or a tad bit too personal. “Given my position, some people may feel a certain way that I never intended to, given my position,” he added.
“I acknowledge that some of the things that I may have said in the past were misinterpreted as somewhat ‘unwanted flirtation.’ Hence, he confirmed how he was deeply sorry to anyone that felt a certain way to that extent.
The Governor’s statement comes just one day after one of Cuomo’s former staffers alleged to the New York Times how Cuomo made a long series of inappropriate comments that left her feeling convinced about how he wished to sleep with her.
The staffer was 25-year-old Charlotte Bennett and her shocking claim just one week after another staffer, Lindsey Boylan, expanded over the accusations that she made in December 2020. Here, she alleged him of kissing her on the lips without issuing any prior warning.
While Cuomo appeared to be copping to remarks that could have crossed the line, he did deny going any further.
“To be very clear, I never touched anybody inappropriately and I did not preposition anyone, nor did I intend to make anyone feel uncomfortable. These are all the types of allegations that all New Yorkers deserve the answers to.”