Photo: EPA / CARLO ALLEGRI / EFE
Tina Tchen, president of the foundation created to combat sexual harassment of women ‘Time’s Up’, resigned yesterday after learning about her ties with the former governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, who left his post precisely because he was accused by the state prosecutor’s office of having harassed more than a dozen employees.
“Now is the time for ‘Time’s Up’ to evolve and move forward because there is a lot of work to do for women. It is clear that I am not the leader who can get is or right now, “said in a statement Tchen, who had previously been the Chief of Staff of the then Democratic First Lady, Michelle Obama.
In recent weeks, it emerged that Tchen had been in contact with Cuomo’s office after knowing that several women accused him of having sexually harassed them at work.
“Sources have been constantly telling us that this crisis is“ existential ”and that the survival and the way forward of the feminist organization ‘Time’s Up’ are not clear, wrote yesterday the reporter Jodi Kantor, of the daily The New York Times.
New: Tina Tchen has resigned as CEO of Time’s Up in the wake of the Cuomo scandal.
Sources have consistently been telling us that this crisis is “existential” and that the organization’s survival and path forward are unclear. https://t.co/ 104 ZQBO8Dn
– Jodi Kantor (@jodikantor) August 22, 2021
1 / Yesterday, @ jodikantor of @ nytimes published an in-depth piece about @ TIMESUPNOW and its leadership. https://t.co/RGRlo7Xasq
– Tina Tchen (@TinaTchen) August 22, 2021
The leader of the foundation admitted yesterday that it had become a dividing element between people who they try to work for a change, so “it is time to resign and let ‘Time’s Up’ continue with its significant process.” But he did not directly comment on his alleged link with Cuomo and his entourage.
According to information published by The New York Times, both Chen and ‘Time’s Up’ board director Roberta Kaplan – who has also resigned – they spoke with Cuomo’s office about an opinion piece that was going to be published in an outlet attacking Lindsay Boylan , the first person to speak in public about the alleged inappropriate behavior of the former Democratic governor.
Attorney Kaplan also would have consulted with senior Cuomo officials about how intense the response of ‘Time’s Up’ should be to the controversy surrounding the then governor, while Tchen ordered her fellow members of the foundation not to publish a statement in support of Boylan, according to text messages published by The Washington Post.
‘Time’s Up’, created as reaction to the scandal of the abuse of the film producer Harvey Weinstein and endorsed by important female entertainment figures such as Oprah Winfrey and Reese Witherspoon, had already received little criticism after being created in 2018 for his alleged lack of concrete direction and his diffuse objectives, commented EFE.
Monifa Bandele, with extensive experience in non-profit organizations, will occupy the leadership position of ‘Time’s Up’ on a temporary basis, while the board of directors stated in a statement that “an independent investigation” will be carried out on the “way of working” and how it can fulfill its mission “in the best way.”
“We are committed to the mission for which ‘Time’s Up’ was founded: fair, fair and dignified for all women, ”the council said in a statement.
6/6 Beginning Tuesday, August 29 st, @ MonifaBandele will become our Interim CEO. “
Read the full statement: https://t.co/ 28 DyMwRqlw
– TIME’S UP (@TIMESUPNOW) August 26, 2021
Who is Tina Tchen? Michelle Obama’s former chief of staff draws scrutiny over her messages to Chicago prosecutor in Jussie Smollett case https://t.co/IUeWSR4qBv pic.twitter.com/UivJmIpR2s
– World-Wide News (@kencampbell 66) March 27, 2019