During a televised interview on Thursday night, Charlotte Bennett, a former aide of Cuomo said that she believed the 63-year-old governor propositioned her for sex during a workplace meeting.
Charlotte Bennett, a 25-year-old former aide to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, appeared on television for the first time in an interview with CBS Evening News. https://t.co/LMdpNppEyy
— Spectrum News ROC (@SPECNewsROC) March 5, 2021
Charlotte Bennett, the 25-year-old former aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who accused him of sexual harassment stated during an interview with Fox News contributor Miranda Devine that the governor implied to her that she was old enough for him.
Bennett said, “Without explicitly saying it, he implied to me that I was old enough for him and he was lonely,” She also added that Cuomo, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, felt more comfortable because of his rising national profile due to his daily televised outbreak updates.
The former aide said, “I think he felt like he was untouchable in a lot of ways.”
In addition to this, Bennett also claimed that Cuomo called her into his office last June 5 and told her that he was lonely and that he is looking for a girlfriend.
“Cuomo allegedly told Bennett he was comfortable dating 22-year-olds and was looking for a girlfriend, and asked her about her sexual relationships.”https://t.co/Q4KULTj2CU
— David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) March 5, 2021
In some parts of the interview with Bennett, she restated the allegations that she made when she stepped forward with accusations against Cuomo earlier in the week.
According to Bennett, the governor asked her if age difference mattered to her. He also told her that he was “fine” with anyone that is over 22 years old. Bennett at that time is 25 years old and the incident happened over the summer.
Bennett said, “I thought, he’s trying to sleep with me, the governor is trying to sleep with me. And I am deeply uncomfortable, and I have to get out of this room as soon as possible.”
She also slammed Cuomo’s attempt at a public apology as reporters interrogated him during his first press conference on more than a week Wednesday.
Bennett said, “It’s not an apology.” She continued, “It’s not an issue of my feelings. It’s an issue of his actions. The fact is he was sexually harassing me and he has not apologized for sexually harassing me. And he can’t even use my name.”
Gov. Cuomo accuser Charlotte Bennett reacts to the governor's "apology":
"It's not an apology. It's not an issue of my feelings. It's an issue of his actions… He can't even use my name." pic.twitter.com/iOIteCD5Y2
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) March 5, 2021
The former aide also accused Cuomo of harping on her background after Bennett had told the governor that she was a sexual assault survivor.
“He asked if I had trouble enjoying being with someone because of my trauma,” Bennett said during the interview. “The governor asked me if I was sensitive to intimacy …during the workday.”
Bennett said that because of the governor’s positions, she felt like she did not have a choice and that she had a hard time avoiding the conversation.
The former aide said, “When I was even thinking of coming forward, I think that was when I had the most shame.” She continued, “I really was uncomfortable. … I feel like people put the onus on the woman to shut that conversation down, and by answering I was somehow engaging in that or enabling it. … It didn’t feel like I had a choice.”
In her first television interview, Charlotte Bennett, former aide to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, discussed her accusations of sexual harassment against the governor.
Bennett told @NorahODonnell the governor asked her questions at work that made her “deeply uncomfortable.” pic.twitter.com/mAbCJeWQDT
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) March 5, 2021
Other than Bennett, another former aide of Cuomo, Lindsey Boylan, also accused Cuomo of forcibly kissing her, in an essay that she published on Medium. Then, a third women, who have no professional ties to Cuomo, Anna Ruch, came forward and accused the governor of making unwanted advances such as touching her exposed lower back and asking to kiss her.
