Elizabeth Dufort told investigators Cuomo's comment "would not have been made to an accomplished physician who was a man." Dufort felt that another joke allegedly made by Cuomo off camera was of an “implied sexual nature.”
Among the claims against Governor Andrew Cuomo is one from a female doctor who gave Cuomo a COVID-19 nasal swab during a televised press conference.
“Nice to see you, doctor. You make that gown look good,” Cuomo said to Elizabeth Dufort last May.
Dufort “found the governor’s comments offensive” and believed that they “would not have been made to an accomplished physician who was a man,” according to the bombshell report released Tuesday that detailed allegations of sexual harassment from 11 women.
The report compiled by New York Attorney General Letitia James also reveals that backstage, away from the presence of cameras, Cuomo asked the doctor not to put the swab up his nose so deep that “you hit my brain.” The doctor replied that she would be “gentle but accurate.”
According to the report, Cuomo is said to have answered, “Gentle but accurate, I’ve heard that before.”
Dufort told investigators she felt the joke was of an “implied sexual nature.”
Cuomo has denied any wrongdoing in response to the allegations contained in the report and says there are generational differences in how people view his banter and his hands-on style.
“Putting your hand up a woman's shirt and touching her breast is not generational,” New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said on “CBS This Morning” Wednesday, referring to another claim in the report.
Eleven women in total have come forward accusing Cuomo of sexual misconduct, including former aide Charlotte Bennett, who spoke to CBS anchor Norah O’Donnell.
“His propaganda video was not only uncomfortable and inappropriate, but downright weird,” Bennett said.
Bennett told investigators that Cuomo confided he was "lonely" and was looking for a new girlfriend. Then 25, Bennett suggested that he date comedian Chelsea Handler or actress Jada Pinkett Smith.
According to handwritten notes contained in the report, Cuomo rejected both because "Chelsea is nuts" and Jada was married to Will Smith.
A photo was also released of Cuomo posing with a woman identified only as "executive assistant #1.” According to the woman, the photo was taken moments after she said he groped her at the governor's mansion.
Cuomo’s daughter Cara Kennedy-Cuomo managed a smile and a wave as she arrived at the mansion in Albany last night. On CNN, anchor Chris Cuomo made no mention of the scandal engulfing his brother.
But Don Lemon, whose show followed Cuomo's, went big with the story.
If Cuomo does not resign, the state legislature appears ready to move forward with impeachment proceedings.
