Source: RT
Top brass at the Time’s Up group decided after some deliberation not to issue a statement of public support for Lindsay Boylan, who in December went public with accusations of sexual harassment against her former boss, then-New York governor Andrew Cuomo, who has denied the accusations.
According to a Washington Post report citing text message exchanges and sources familiar with the situation, the decision to not support Boylan came after the group’s leaders consulted with top Cuomo advisor Melissa DeRosa.
After the meeting, Time’s Up chief executive Tina Tchen reportedly told others in the group to “stand down” on any plans to support Boylan, whose accusations were accompanied by numerous others against Cuomo. He was eventually forced to resign from office.
As part of the consultation with DeRosa, the group also got a glimpse at Cuomo’s response to Boylan’s accusations and they in turn showed DeRosa their planned statement of support.
“This group (Times Up) so grossly and cravenly BETRAYED @LindseyBoylan (among many other women),” former Fox News host Megyn Kelly tweeted on Thursday in response to the revealing report.
She went on to recommend no one call or seek help from the group, which was borne out the #MeToo movement with the promise of bringing equality to workplaces.
This group (Times Up) so grossly and cravenly BETRAYED @LindseyBoylan (among many other women). They should never be portrayed as advocates of harassment victims in any publication again. Don’t donate, don’t seek their help. They are power-seekers. That’s all. https://t.co/8N0nTPQpZU
— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) August 26, 2021
Other frequent Cuomo critics took to social media to express equal outrage and to call out some of the numerous liberal celebrities who show public support for the group.
Hi @_juliannemoore@MiraSorvino would love to hear your voice now regarding the absolute disaster @TIMESUPNOW has been for the women of New York under the predatory behavior of @andrewcuomohttps://t.co/tgmsM8X9Na
— Janice Dean (@JaniceDean) August 26, 2021
Cannot believe a so called victims rights org @TIMESUPNOW would hold back support of @LindseyBoylan when she bravely came out as a survivor of sexual harassment by Andrew Cuomo. We hope celebrity creators and supporters of this org @ReeseW@LauraDern@EvaLongoria speak out! https://t.co/VudA02EgNM
— wellesleyunderground (@wellesleyunderg) August 26, 2021
The Time’s Up board of directors has responded to reports by promising an “internal review” of the group’s “past actions,” though this is far from the first time it has been accused of being motivated by politics, even in the Cuomo drama.
“Ultimately, we decided not to comment given our policy, but in so doing did not intend to silence Ms. Boylan or any survivor. I deeply regret that survivors, who have already endured a great deal, feel let down and betrayed. That was not my intention,” she said in a statement this week.
In the alleged text message exchanges about the group’s response though, Tchen says, “the story is all over the place with this survivor.” She now claimed in response to the Post report that she simply meant the story was receiving lots of media coverage.
“I was not saying I disbelieved Lindsey,” she said.
The Time’s Up organization faced accusations of political bias in the past when it similarly declined to support accuser Tara Reade against Joe Biden, the current president and a man she has accused publicly of sexual assault for years. The organization reportedly told Reade they could not help any effort to expose Biden’s alleged actions as it could jeopardize its tax-exempt status.
Following Biden denying any wrongdoing in May of last year, Time’s Up praised the then-presidential candidate for addressing “the allegation against him with the seriousness it deserves,” while fitting in a quick dig at then-president Donald Trump, saying he has “never done the same” as his Democrat opponent.
If you like this story, share it with a friend!
Dear readers and commenters,
We have implemented a new engine for our comment section. We hope the transition goes smoothly for all of you. Unfortunately, the comments made before the change have been lost due to a technical problem. We are working on restoring them, and hoping to see you fill up the comment section with new ones. You should still be able to log in to comment using your social-media profiles, but if you signed up under an RT profile before, you are invited to create a new profile with the new commenting system.
Sorry for the inconvenience, and looking forward to your future comments,
RT Team.