Beautiful Virgin Islands

Saturday, Jul 05, 2025

Andrew Cuomo Says He's Sorry - But Won't Resign Over Those Sexual Harassment Claims

Andrew Cuomo Says He's Sorry - But Won't Resign Over Those Sexual Harassment Claims

Cuomo said he “never touched anyone inappropriately,” despite one woman saying he kissed her without consent and a photo of another woman looking visibly uncomfortable as Cuomo grabbed her cheeks.

After three women accused him of sexual harassment and making unwanted advances, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo publicly apologized on Wednesday, but said he would not resign.

“I now understand that I acted in a way that made people feel uncomfortable. It was unintentional and I truly and deeply apologize for it,” Cuomo said at a press briefing. “I feel awful about it and, frankly, I am embarrassed by it.”

Despite his apology, Cuomo said he “never touched anyone inappropriately” and urged people to “wait for the facts...before forming an opinion.”

Two of the women have accused Cuomo of touching them inappropriately, with one saying he kissed her without her consent in his office and another recalling that he aggressively grabbed her cheeks at a wedding and asked to kiss her. A photo has circulated of the latter incident, showing the woman appearing frightened.

Cuomo was first accused of harassment by a former aide, Lindsey Boylan, who worked in his office from 2015 to 2018. In a Feb. 24 Medium post, Boylan said Cuomo asked her to play strip poker and repeatedly made comments indicating he found her attractive. She also said he kissed her on the lips once in his Manhattan office in 2018.

A second former aide, Charlotte Bennett, 25, told the New York Times that Cuomo repeatedly asked her questions about her sex life and once asked her if she “had ever been with an older man.” Bennett left Cuomo’s office in November, and said much of the harassment occurred during the height of the pandemic, a time during which Cuomo became a prominent political figure nationally.

“I understood that the governor wanted to sleep with me, and felt horribly uncomfortable and scared,” Bennett said. “And was wondering how I was going to get out of it and assumed it was the end of my job.”

Debra Katz, an attorney representing Bennett, said in a statement that Cuomo’s press conference was “full of falsehoods and inaccurate information.”

“New Yorkers deserve better,” Katz said.

The third woman, Anna Ruch, told the New York Times she met Cuomo at a wedding in September 2019 and he acted in an “aggressive” manner toward her, touching her despite her visible discomfort and and asking to kiss her.

Speaking on Wednesday, Cuomo acknowledged Ruch’s claims, including the photo of him grabbing her face, but said this was how he commonly greets people and noted that his father, former New York governor Mario Cuomo, did the same.

“You can find hundreds of pictures of me making the same gesture with hundreds of people — women, men, children, et cetera... It is my usual and customary way of greeting,” he said. “If they felt pain from it, I apologize. I did not intend it, I didn’t mean it that way, but if that’s how they felt, that’s all that matters, and I apologize.”

People attend a March 2 protest to demand New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s resignation after a third woman accused him of sexual harassment.


Cuomo has agreed to be investigated by state Attorney General Letitia James, and reiterated Wednesday that he will “fully cooperate” with the probe.

Since the women have gone public about their interactions with the governor, calls have risen for him to resign. Many have come from his fellow New York Democrats, including Rep. Kathleen Rice, State Sen. James Skoufis, and New York City mayoral candidates Scott Stringer and Maya Wiley. The state’s progressive Working Families Party also released a petition calling for Cuomo’s resignation.

In the Wednesday briefing, Cuomo criticized them, saying, “Politicians will always play politics.”

“I’m not going to resign,” Cuomo said. “I work for the people of the state of New York. They elected me, and I’m going to serve the people of the state of New York.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Political Dispute Escalates Between Trump and Musk
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
US Senate Votes to Remove AI Regulation Moratorium from Domestic Policy Bill
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
Jury Deliberations in Diddy Trial Yield Partial Verdict in Serious Criminal Charges
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
King Charles Plans Significant Role for Prince Harry in Coronation
Two Chinese Nationals Arrested for Espionage Activities Against U.S. Navy
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
Trump Administration Considers Withdrawal of Funding for Hospitals Providing Gender Treatment to Minors
Texas Enacts Law Allowing Gold and Silver Transactions
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
×