Cuomo touted, and flouted, #MeToo
Brittany Commisso, identified as Executive Assistant #1 in the Cuomo sex harassment report, speaks during an interview on CBS. Credit: CBS THIS MORNING AND TIMES UNION
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has given us a #MeToo response plan.
"To … all survivors of sexual assault, we believe you and we will fight for you."
That’s what Cuomo said in October 2018, after the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
The remark was consistent with what Cuomo has said nearly every time allegations of sexual harassment or assault surfaced against politicians or other well-known figures. He often has called for the resignations of those facing accusations similar to those now facing him. He long has portrayed himself as a champion of women, and has been critical, even angry toward the accused, while sympathetic and understanding toward the accusers.
"Anyone who has a mother, a daughter, who has a female friend, this is just disgusting," Cuomo said in the wake of the Access Hollywood tape capturing lewd comments by then-candidate Donald Trump.
Disgusting.
It’s the same word used by Brittany Commisso, the woman previously known as Executive Assistant #1, in a CBS interview that aired Monday, to describe Cuomo's pointed denials of her accusations that the governor groped her underneath her shirt during a workday in November 2020.
After the attorney general's report emerged last week, Cuomo came out swinging. His 85-page statement called Commisso's accusations 'inconceivable" and referred to Cuomo's interactions with several other accusers as "unremarkable."
Such terminology only serves to dismiss and diminish the women and their experiences. It certainly isn't the language of someone who thinks we should believe women.
Imagine, for a moment, if Cuomo emerged with a softer tone, one of understanding and sympathy and respect, even if he pushed back on dates and specifics. Imagine if he said that while he hadn't meant to do anything wrong and some details were inaccurate, he now sought to understand the women and their perspectives. Imagine if he said he made mistakes and hoped to grow from them. He touched the surface with comments about Charlotte Bennett, but never went far enough.
Instead, Cuomo and his attorneys have focused on his intentions, and how the accusations are affecting him, rather than leaving any room for how his actions affected the women who experienced them. He and his attorneys have painted the governor as the victim, with attorney Rita Glavin saying he was "ambushed." But that's not how leaders lead.
Speaking for the governor, Glavin continued her defensive march through cable news interviews Monday. Despite her promises, Cuomo has yet to respond to some of the most distressing allegations — including those of a state trooper assigned to Cuomo’s detail.
Now, the women's voices are filling the governor's silence, with Commisso the most recent. She has a name, a face, and an important story to tell — and it may be more difficult for the governor to call her account "inconceivable" now that she is telling it. And she added new details, including another instance of alleged groping that took place Dec. 31, 2019, when, she says, the governor rubbed her butt while the two took a selfie.
Cuomo has tried to couch the accusations in the context of hugs and kisses he’s given others. But no matter how many times the governor has hugged and kissed politicians, friends and colleagues, it’s absurd to conclude with certainty he never crossed the line.
Just as it's absurd for the governor who’s always pitched himself as a fighter for and believer of women to ask us not to believe them now.
Columnist Randi F. Marshall's opinions are her own.
Randi Marshall is a member of the Newsday editorial board.
