Andrew Cuomo has spoken out about sexual harassment allegations and apologized to the women who accused him of making inappropriate remarks towards them.
In his 40-minute briefing, the New York Governor initially addressed the Covid-19 situation as he opened up about the plans to reopen the state.
Cuomo then also addressed the calls for resignation he has been facing after three women accused him of sexual harassment as he said he refuses to step down because he allegedly never touched anyone inappropriately.
“As you know the Attorney General is doing an independent review. I will fully cooperate with that review. The lawyers say I shouldn’t say anything when you have a pending review – I understand that I am a lawyer too,” the governor said.
“But, I want New Yorkers to hear from me directly on this. First, I fully support a woman’s right to come forward and I think it should be encouraged in every way. 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.
“I feel awful about it and frankly I am embarrassed by it. That’s not easy to say. That’s the truth. This is what I want you to know and I want you to know this from me directly: I never touched anyone inappropriately. I never touched anyone inappropriately.”
As Cuomo went on to claim, he refuses to step down from his position because he wants to continue serving the people of New York amid the pandemic.
Further explaining the reasons behind his actions that led three women to accuse him of sexual harassment, the governor said that hugging and kissing both men and women was his “usual and customary way of greeting.”
“I do not believe I have ever done anything in my public career that I am ashamed of. I didn’t know I was making her uncomfortable at the time, I feel badly that I did. Sensitivities have changed and behavior has changed. I get it and I’m going to learn from it,” he added.
“You can go find hundreds of pictures of me kissing people – men and women. It is my usual and customary way of greeting. You know that because you’ve watched me.
“It was my father’s way of greeting people – you’re the governor of the state you want people to feel comfortable. You want to reach out to them.
“(…) What matters is if anybody was offended by it. If they were offended by it, I apologize. If they were hurt, I apologize. If they felt pain from it, I apologize.”
Concluding his speech, Cuomo once again apologized for unintentionally causing pain as he vowed to learn from his lesson and “be the better for this experience.”
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Replaced!