New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s daughter Mariah Kennedy-Cuomo stood arm-in-arm with her father, who has now been accused by seven women of sexual harassment and misconduct, outside the Executive Mansion in Albany.
It’s unclear how Cuomo’s two other daughters are handling the sexual harassment allegations against their father, especially 23-year-old Michaela who has been an outspoken advocate for victims of sexual assault while attending Brown University.
In 2019, Michaela argued in a Brown Political Review essay that official sexual-assault investigations serve to defend the powers that be rather than “to decipher the truth or dole the consequences.”
The title of Michaela’s essay: “Institutional Gaslighting; Investigations to Silence the Victim and Protect the Perp.”
Gov. Cuomo is now under probe by a former political ally, Democratic state Attorney General Letitia James, after as many as seven women — one who claimed she was groped by the governor under her blouse — have come forward with allegations. He has denied the claims, but apologized if his behavior made any of the women feel “uncomfortable.”
Michaela wrote at the Ivy League institution she attended that “survivors deserve to be believed and supported in their desired course of action.”
Michaela also founded an activist group called “Cultivating Upstanders for Sexual Assault Prevention,” or CUSP, according to her LinkedIn. A post on the group’s Instagram lays out “The Rape Pyramid,” asserting that an “unwanted touch” would “reinforce and excuse higher-up actions.” The group’s Twitter account, @MakeLovebyCUSP, has been deactivated.
Throughout 2020, the three daughters Cuomo has with ex-wife Kerry Kennedy — Cara and Mariah are 26-year-old twins — guest-starred in Gov. Cuomo’s Emmy-winning televised COVID-19 press briefings. They were also drawn as characters on the governor’s taxpayer-funded poster exalting his administration’s handling of the pandemic as “pulling down” the infection rate.
Now, the governor faces mounting accusations of mishandling the pandemic, as well as sexual harassment and bullying. He has resisted calls to resign, including from many fellow Democrats, instead calling his critics “reckless” for making up their minds ahead of official investigations.
Earlier this month Cuomo told reporters that he had spoken with his daughters about the allegations.
“I told them what I told you, which is I never touched anyone inappropriately. I never made any inappropriate advances, and no one ever told me that they felt, at the time, that I made them feel uncomfortable or awkward,” said the governor. “Let’s have an investigation and get the facts.”
