(TGATP Note: This was written two days before Governor Cuomo was forced out of office on claims I believe to be false. The Democrats will pay a huge political price for this. NY will now likely be a blue congress with a red Governor and AG by 2023. Because with two democratic Governors made to leave there are now enough pissed off New Yorkers, like myself, to sit it out or vote the other side.
I am disappointed that Governor Cuomo did not fight this obvious smear. However, I know that the Truth about Lindsey Boylan, who I believe is the mastermind of this political hit, will be coming out within the next few months and Cuomo will be exonerated. She & her supporters are currently trying to get the Founder/CEO of TimesUp to resign. I expect her to continue to spin out with this unhinged targeting of people. The GOP couldn’t have planned this any better.)
This week has been full of calls for Governor Cuomo to step down based on accusations of sexual assaults and harassment that first surfaced four months ago. I had my doubts about the veracity of these claims when they were first made. But I decided to reserve my thoughts on them until NY Attorney General Leiticia James issued her report. But unfortunately, rather than verify for us whether Cuomo actually committed these acts, James’ shoddy report raises more questions than it answers. Because the report consists of James simply repeating the accusations and saying she “believes the women”, without any real concrete evidence, it has thrown me into further doubt that any of the more serious claims actually took place.
It has come out that there were tons of problems with how James’ supposedly impartial investigation was conducted. Questions were shaped to support the narrative that Cuomo was guilty rather than to fact find. The so-called exhibits are merely notes and emails between the accusers and notes taken by the investigators. Supposedly 179 people were interviewed. But there were only 40, who testified under oath, and none of the witnesses or Cuomo’s attorneys have, to date, been provided with the transcripts. Without a transcriber taking testimonies under oath, the testimony of 139 people is only recorded by the interviewers through their notes. This means that they interpreted what they heard not recorded the testimony word for word. Witnesses were also allegedly forced into changing their testimony by Lindsey Boylan, one of the more zealous accusers, who used the accusations to try to launch her own political career since she knew #MeToo was on everyone’s lips. This is shoddy investigative work, to say the least.
I was, frankly, shocked by this. I have long been a Leticia James fan and was ecstatic when she ran on a platform of finally holding the Trump crime family accountable. Who could forget her exuberantly claiming that she “had indictments ready!” Instead she and the Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance — who according to The New Yorker allegedly took a campaign bribe from Donald to keep Ivanka and Don Jr. out of prison back in 2012 and I feel should have been asked to resign then — have dragged their feet and done nothing more than talk big when it comes to the Trumps.
I have always been conflicted about the #MeToo Movement. In ny lifetime, I have survived a sexual assault by a friend of my brother’s, an attempted sexual assault by a Maryland State Trooper, two date rapes and two attempted date rapes. I was also sexually harassed on a Spike Lee set — the mofo still owes me $400 (now plus 25 years interest!) from a week’s work on “Girl 6” that his 2nd 2nd AD wouldn’t sign my timesheet for because I wouldn’t sleep with him. So yes, what went on on movie sets was appallingly sexist.
However, I have always suffered far more racism than sexism d in both the film and the influencing industries. And worse, it was perpetrated by white women. Except for a crooked lawyer, who allowed my rollererby show to be stolen from under me, white men have been the ones to hire me and partner with me on my projects. The racism in hiring by the white female gatekeepers to production offices was so blatant in the 90’s that now it would warrant lawsuits. The racism in the influencer and publishing industries and the PR companies that represent brands is equally blatant today. So, as a sexual assault survivor, when the #MeToo Movement first came out of Hollywood, I felt a kinship and empathy for the women, who were brave enough to come forth. But at the same time, as a Black woman, I recognized that these same women gave no thoughts to how their participation in, or ignorance of, the racism we, as Black people, suffered had completely crippled our careers in much the same way that sexual assaults and harassment killed theirs. Women of color weren’t even in the room because they kept us out, not men. Since we are demanding that men that sexually harass or assault women be ousted, then we also need to demand that white people that racistly discriminated against BIPOC also be forced out. If there ever was “a good for the goose, good for the gander” situation, this is it. So, while I support original premise of the #MeToo movement, I was and still am, conflicted about that.
The Andrew Cuomo affair illustrates that in the four years since its much needed work to smoke out the predators in Hollywood, #MeToo and its organization #TimesUp has become dangerously weaponized and a sinister mechanism for carrying out vendettas. We are now forced in a “he said/she said” situation, such as Cuomo’s, to automatically believe the “she said” without question and totally disregard the “he said” or risk our own condemnation! As an activist, one of my main focuses have been the wrongfully accused. I have worked on cases of people that were wrongfully convicted because they were not allowed due process and were convicted in the court of public opinion.
I was also the victim of a cyberbullying attack by an unhinged woman, who runs a popular PR Media & Marketing Facebook group. She allowed a bunch of haters, most of whom, I didn’t even know to make up a whole host of lies about me. This cost me thousands of dollars and was so bad that Page Six, called to get my side though I was smart enough not to step into that. I knew that the press could go either way and could further assault me, so I declined comment. But I was devastated because people were just believing the claims because so many people were piling on. If enough people say it, it has to be true, is what most people think when it comes to social media and the press I thought I had ruined a 25-year media career by being in this stupid FB group. And everyone that knew and supported me was afraid to stick up for me because they knew that she would direct her wrath at them. Fortunately, in my case, the psycho admin ended up perpetrating her reign of terror on multiple other members. Once this happened people recognized that what was said about me was untrue and just her attacking me and people piling on. A whole new group was created of her former victims or people fed up with her mean girl tactics. But what if I had been more well known and she had claimed worst things? I have seen and felt what being tried by the public is like. If social media and then the mainstream media run with a narrative, it doesn’t matter if it’s true!
If we continue down this slippery slope where accusers and their accusations are to be believed no matter what, it will lead to public lynchings before we have due process. Some of the accused that are actually innocent will have their lives shattered for nothing. We are now, in a ridiculously risky place, where accusers cannot be questioned or doubted at all. The accused are not allowed to have any due process or defend themselves and God forbid, you point out any inconsistencies or conflicts in the stories lest you also be cancelled. It is to the point where if you insist on due process for the accused, you are accused of enabling the alleged assaults and supporting sexual predators. I am not at all for this.
We cannot just have accusations and blanketedly say we “believe the accusers”. We HAVE to have due process for the accused. Know about the Salem witch trials? I do. Once labeled a witch, women were murdered and not allowed to offer any defense. If anyone in the community tried to speak up for them, they too, were labeled witches and killed. This closely resembles what is happening in our current cancel culture. I have been called a “sexual predator supporter” for simply asking for due process or spotting inconsistencies in these women’s stories and fully expect some blowback for this article. Today Roberta Kaplan, the Co-Founder and Chair of #TimesUp has been forced to step down because Cuomo’s office consulted her to make sure that his statement would not appear to be bashing the accusers. CNN Anchor Chris Cuomo, the Governor’s little brother, has even been targeted for not adequately condemning him and claims have been made that his appearance on TV triggers the accusers. What next? Cuomo’s Mama asked to leave the canasta club??
Yes, I am the survivor of multiple sexual assaults. However, I am also a Black woman and a believer in the rule of law. I also know our history and that there have been hundreds of white women, who have lied about assaults for their own purposes, resulting in thousands of Black men lynched. From Emmett Till to the Scottsboro Boys to Marcus Dixon, there are far too many stories for me to just trust every single accusation as the Truth. I hear them. But I need facts to back these claims up.
If we do not insist that — not only should the accusers be heard and their claims taken seriously — but that we also have proper due process for the accused, we are conducting trials by social media & in the media and dangerously weaponizing #MeToo. This will ultimately render the entire movement ineffective.
We need to know, without a shadow of a doubt, that these incidences occurred, And the only way to do so is through due process not hasty calls for resignations and smackdowns when an accused proclaims his innocence. We need to stop condemning every man that is even accused and anyone that defends him. Cuomo’s lawyer, Rita Glavin was on CNN on Saturday and the anchor ridiculously attacked her and claimed she was “victim blaming” for even presenting his case!. Should Cuomo not be allowed to have a case or explanation? Should accusers just be able to make their accusations and no one refute them for fear of being labelled as “victim bashing” or “enabling sexual predators”? This has gotten seriously out of hand.
Cancellation of anyone that demands due process and does not just take the accuser’s word for it also needs to stop. I believe accusers think they are expressing their Truth. But I also need the evidence to fully support their stories. In Cuomo’s case, many of the stories either do not add up or do not amount to actual sexual assault. It is clear to me that President Biden — who needed to wait before making a comment when the same tactics were tried against him. Remember Tara Reade? — and the other Congresspeople did not read the report before rushing to seem “woke” by calling for Cuomo’s resignation.
There is also a generational divide. Even women that are 45 and up, will sometimes say or do things that the younger generations could now label as harassment. During a recent ZOOM meeting with my lawyers, they introduced a new member to the team, He was a young attractive man, so I teased him and asked him was he married or dating. When he said “no”, I said “then maybe I can hook you up with one of my nieces.” Right after it came out of my mouth, I felt horrible I had said it and apologized to him. I realized that if I had been a man saying the same thing to an attractive young woman, she might claim I had sexually harassed her. I also sometimes say “thanks, Doll!“, which is totally innocuous and spontaneous. Most of the claims against Cuomo in James’ report are things like this, which while inappropriate, do not rise to criminal sexual assault or harassment. For example, a kiss on the cheek at a crowded wedding, a hand in the small of your back to take a picture, looking at you and brushing against you when passing by, or calling women “sweetheart” or “darling”, all of which Cuomo is accused of, is NOT sexual assault or harassment by the legal definition. A bit creepy and perhaps over familiar, yes. But an actual crime, no. If we go down this road, every interaction with a man will be able to be called a sexual assault or harassment.
And in Cuomo’s case, there are tons of questions about the accusers. One accuser Lindsey Boylan appears to have a vendetta due to resigning under fire and not being given her job back. Boylan also needed name recognition for her run for Manhattan Borough President. And finally, she appears to have strong-armed others into making claims to support hers after she found out they had testified that what she was that sexual harassment that she claimed happened on a plane, didn’t.
Another accuser, Brittany Commisso, who appeared on CBS This Morning today, has inconsistencies in her stories that have made me question the veracity of her claims. By current investigative standards, I could claim Governor Cuomo assaulted me and provide no verifiable date for when it supposedly happen and everyone would be forced to believe it! Investigating or questioning both Boylan’s motives and alleged threats to other witnesses is not victim blaming or abuse. Nor is investigating to be able to corroborate Commisso’s claims victim blaming or abuse. It is getting to the Truth to ensure justice— instead of a lynch mob —is actually served.
The NY Attorney General, the congresspeople, and newspapers — both local and national — that are calling for Governor Cuomo’s resignation have all failed New Yorkers and place us all in peril. We need the full story, the transcripts and his response to come out in a court where Governor Cuomo is given due process. I need all of my elected officials, including President Biden, to stop calling for his resignation until he has been allowed his day in court.
Because while I believe accusers, I also know there ARE women, who are now using as a weapon or ridiculously making everything from a man holding the door open to a kiss on the cheek to a dirty joke to a hand perceived to be held too long to a hand in the small of their backs to take a picture into a #MeToo case, where in their minds, a man should lose his whole career and be banished forever and ever. We need to be very careful not to allow this to happen. Because then we lose all credibility and no #MeToo cases will be able to be taken seriously. In addition, we place all the men in our lives our husbands, sons, boyfriends, nephews, and male friends in a position where mere accusations could destroy their lives and even land them in prison.<
And finally, boy, oh boy, are Democrats easy to get to eat their own. There is far more evidence against Trump and Gaetz as sexual predators. Yet the Democrats never called for their resignations in any real way. This selective outrage does even further damage to the whole #MeToo and #TinesUP cause and there will be a political backlash if we keep up with these witch trials. At this point, all the GOP needs to do is assemble some women to make claims that a chosen target “sexually harassed” or “sexually abused” them and Democrats rush him to the political gulliotine in seconds! It’s off with his political head before he can even deny the allegations! If the accused or anyone else, says “hold up”, we are branded as attacking the victims and enabling sexual predators. Cancel us and off with our heads too!
It’s genius on the GOP’s part and real stupid on the Democrats’. I demand DUE PROCESS be served before anyone is tried on social media or in the press, So should every Democratic congressperson, including Biden. ‘Cause guess what? Let this go down and you’re next! The GOP have boxed you into saying that anyone that is even accused of a sexual assault should be removed and/or resign. So now they are picking you off one by one. Believe you me, another hit is going to be attempted on Biden in 2023. They are already ramping their sick base up for it.
With so little to go on in Tish James’ reports, for me, the jury is still out on Governor Cuomo and it is definitely not #TimesUp.
