Michael Bloomberg’s longtime partner Diana Taylor has this message for anyone bothered by allegations of sexist comments leveled against the former New York City mayor and the non-disclosure agreements his company has used: “It was 30 years ago. Get over it.”
According to CBS News, Taylor made those remarks in an interview in Texas on the sidelines of a “Women for Mike” event.
“In none of them was he accused of doing anything, saying something nasty to a woman. That is not who he is. Life has changed. I grew up in that world. It was a bro culture,” Taylor, a former New York state banking superintendent, also told CBS. “And we have come a very, very long way. And Michael Bloomberg has been at the forefront of that change.”
Asked for comment, Bloomberg spokesperson Erin McPike told CNN: “It is her personal view. It is not the view of the campaign.”
Taylor’s assertion that Bloomberg was never accused of “saying something nasty to a woman” is incorrect. CNN and other media outlets have reported on lawsuits dating back to the 1990s, in which former female employees accused Bloomberg himself of regularly making sexist and misogynistic remarks in the workplace.
Taylor’s comments come on the heels of Bloomberg’s announcement last week that he would be willing to release parties to three NDAs involving alleged comments that Bloomberg has made, if those parties asked to be released from those contracts.
A senior Bloomberg adviser previously told CNN that the woman behind one of those three NDAs is Sekiko Garrison, who accused Bloomberg in the 1990s of repeatedly saying crass things in the workplace. (Bloomberg spokesman Stu Loeser has said that Bloomberg “did not make any of the statements alleged in the Sekiko Garrison case.”)
According to that senior adviser, the other two NDAs did not result from lawsuits, but rather complaints. The identity of the two other parties covered by the NDAs is unclear. The adviser also stated that there are certainly other lawsuits and complaints about gender discrimination or sexual harassment at the company, but that only three have been identified as accusing Bloomberg of saying inappropriate things.
Bloomberg said in a statement last week when he announced his willingness to release three parties from NDAs that he has done “a lot of reflecting on this issue” and that going forward, his company would no longer offer confidentiality agreements to resolve claims of sexual harassment or misconduct.
“I recognize that NDAs, particularly when they are used in the context of sexual harassment and sexual assault, promote a culture of silence in the workplace and contribute to a culture of women not feeling safe or supported,” Bloomberg said. “It is imperative that when problems occur, workplaces not only address the specific incidents, but the culture and practices that led to those incidents. And then leaders must act.”
Earlier in the week on the Democratic debate stage, Bloomberg had been pressed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren whether he would release women from nondisclosure agreements “so we can hear their side of the story.”
Bloomberg declined, saying those agreements were agreed upon “consensually.”
“None of them accuse me of doing anything, other than maybe they didn’t like a joke I told,” Bloomberg also said – comments that were widely criticized. “There’s agreements between two parties that wanted to keep it quiet and that’s up to them. They signed those agreements, and we’ll live with it.”
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to accurately quote Diana Taylor.