Time’s Up responded to an investigation by the New York Times into the organization’s internal turmoil and the fallout after the group was involved in New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s sexual harassment allegations.
Two weeks ago, Time’s Up co-founder Roberta Kaplan resigned from the organization after she was named in the New York Attorney General’s investigation into the sexual harassment allegations against Gov. Cuomo. The investigation revealed that Gov. Cuomo instructed his former aide Melissa DeRosa to seek input from Kaplan and other lawyers for a response to ex-aide Lindsey Boylan’s allegations of sexual harassment. Prior to Kaplan’s resignation, a group of former Time’s Up staffers and Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund clients published an open letter to the board, calling out the organization for “failing all survivors.”
The New York Times reported that Time’s Up CEO Tina Tchen “helped hold back a letter from women’s groups prodding [President] Biden to respond more quickly to a sexual misconduct allegation — even as she raised funds for his campaign as a private citizen.” In addition, Tchen was in talks to launch a consultancy that would allow her to advise companies, including those that were facing abuse allegations. Time’s Up members were concerned, but the consulting plans did not go forward, the New York Times reports.
On Sunday, Time’s Up responded to the report, saying the organization seeks to gain insights and feedback from people involved in the organization. Time’s Up has also hired an outside expert to aid in creating an impact review process.
“Yesterday, The New York Times published an in-depth piece about Time’s Up and its leadership. While we may not agree with every assertion made by the publication, we respect journalism as one of the many ways organizations working to advance systemic change are held accountable by their communities. We see this reporting as an opportunity to glean more insights and feedback from those who have been impacted by our organization, and we value hearing from those with varying opinions across our vast community,” said Tchen in a statement.
“As The New York Times notes, we are hiring an outside, independent expert to lead us in structuring an open and collaborative impact review process that will proceed in multiple phases, and include input from survivors, supporters, critics and partners. As we move forward, we will continue in our work to contend with longstanding, entrenched patriarchy, in ways that are informed by those who are the closest to those harms. We’re committed to rebuilding trust and leading responsibly in ways that honor and center the very people we want to serve.”