New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo faced criticism for fundraising off of the #MeToo movement in 2018 after knowingly hiring senior aide Sam Hoyt following Hoyt's extramarital affair with a 19-year-old intern.
Now Cuomo is dealing with an accusation of sexual harassment from former adviser Lindsey Boylan, who worked for the governor's administration from 2015 to 2018, according to her LinkedIn profile. Boylan alleged on Twitter Sunday that Cuomo "sexually harassed me for years."
FORMER AIDE SAYS CUOMO SEXUALLY HARASSED HER 'FOR YEARS'
"I heard about the tweet and what it said about comments that I had made. And it’s not true. Look, I fought for and I believe a woman has the right to come forward and express her opinion … But it’s just not true," Cuomo said Monday during a news conference.
Hoyt, a former Democratic New York state lawmaker, resigned from his position at Empire State Development, the state's economic development public-benefit organization, amid an investigation into one woman's sexual harassment claims in 2017, Politico reported. Hoyt's sexually charged message to the intern he had an affair with had been public since 2008.
Months later, liberal-leaning outlet Slate called out Cuomo for capitalizing on support for the #MeToo movement in a fundraising email.
CUOMO'S OFFICE A 'TOXIC' WORK ENVIRONMENT, PEOPLE 'DEATHLY AFRAID OF HIM,' FORMER AIDE SAYS
Cuomo praised “women across the country” who “courageously speak out about facing sexual assault and harassment” in an email with the subject line “NY Stands with #MeToo," Slate reported.
Shortly after Hoyt's resignation in 2017, Cuomo got into a spat with a reporter pressing him about whether his office was taking steps to curb sexual harassment in state government. Cuomo accused the reporter, a woman, of doing "a disservice to women" by asking the question.
"We’ll have policies in state government obviously, that affects state government, but I think you miss the point. When you say it’s state government, you do a disservice to women, with all due respect, even though you’re a woman. It’s not government; it’s society. It was Harvey Weinstein in the arts industry, it’s comedians, it’s politicians, it’s chefs, right? It’s systemic, it’s societal, it’s not one person in one area," Cuomo told NPR journalist Karen DeWitt.
"But can you just name one thing?" DeWitt asked.
"No," Cuomo said.
Boylan is one of many Democrats running for Manhattan borough president in 2021. She also ran against Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., in New York's 10th Congressional District this year but lost by more than 40 points, according to Ballotpedia.
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"To be clear: I have no interest in talking to journalists," Boylan wrote on Twitter on Sunday. "I am about validating the experience of countless women and making sure abuse stops. My worst fear is that this continues."
Fox News' inquiry to Cuomo's office was not immediately returned.