Democrat New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio ripped Democrat New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to shreds for the apology the governor issued as he faces a sexual harassment scandal.
“On top of it, he’s saying, ‘Oh, I was joking around.’ Sexual harassment’s not funny! Who the hell tries to explain that by saying I was just joking around?” de Blasio said Monday morning during an interview on Hot 97 radio show.
“There may be more stories like it, and everyone should come forward, because we’ve got to know the truth. … You cannot treat anyone this way. … It can’t be laughed off, it can’t be swept under the rug.”
De Blasio, who has always clashed with Cuomo, said he wants a “thorough, fast investigation” into the allegations.
Cuomo released a statement Sunday, explaining that his comments were mere “jokes” while saying he was “truly sorry” for them.
“At work, sometimes I think I am being playful and make jokes that I think are funny. I do, on occasion, tease people in what I think is a good-natured way. I do it in public and in private. You have seen me do it at briefings hundreds of times,” Cuomo said.
Cuomo’s statement came a day after former staffer Charlotte Bennett, 25, alleged the 63-year-old governor asked her about her sex life and claimed he was open to a relationship with women in their twenties.
Bennett’s allegations followed claims from another staffer, Lindsey Boylan, accusing the governor of trying to get her to play strip poker and kiss her on the lips.
On Sunday, the Cuomo administration finally relented and said state Attorney General Letitia James would initiate an investigation.
James said her office would be allowed to seek outside counsel to “perform a rigorous and independent investigation.”