Andrew Cuomo and the Age of Accountability
The series that is the COVID-19 pandemic, something that has yet to reach it’s finale, features an eccentric cast of federal characters; each rating on a limited level of competency. Who could possibly forget the comments made by our own Mayor Goodman on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360?
Yet, a rising star was born in the midst of rising death rates and even higher case numbers; Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo. While his state’s capital city, New York City, served as the world’s epicenter of the virus during early 2020, Cuomo brought further primitive measures in order to keep his citizens safe. His actions as a federal authoritative in an era where we had not seen that level of proficiency in years had been refreshing to the masses.
Soon, the world was introduced to the term, ‘Cuomosexual’ blasted onto every merchandise surface you could imagine, identified by the likes of Trevor Noah and Ellen DeGeneres. New York-based brand, Lingua Franca had introduced cashmere sweaters with the term alongside others with ‘Cuomo for President’ stitched across the chest, all holding a price tag of $400. Late 2020 had him publishing ‘American Crisis: Leadership Lessons From the Covid-19 Pandemic’ for $5.1 million detailing the “riveting story” on how he completely annihilated COVID-19, which in fact still exists. 2021 earned him the Emmys’ Founders Award for his pandemic press conferences where he repeatedly referenced A.J. Parkinson, someone who does not exist.
He was just a “cool guy in a loose mood” regularly making appearances on his brother’s, Chris Cuomo, CNN program; a family man. Many Democrats had even considered ditching prominent Democratic Presidential candidate, Joe Biden, in favor of the New York Governor. To put it frankly, Andrew Cuomo was on the absolute top of his political career.
Until, he wasn’t. In a series where he had played a hero, he had soon become a villain. That’s when the infamous ‘Nursing Home Scandal’ hit the waters. Cuomo had made it a point to hide COVID nursing home death tolls, preventing state officials from releasing the information for months to lawmakers and the public. When lawmaker Ron Kim went after the cover-up, Cuomo had allegedly threatened to destroy him.
By December 2020, the New York state assembly was already orchestrating an impeachment probe and Cuomo had no intentions to resign from the position he had held for a decade. December also brought out a tsunami that would sweep over everything the public had formerly thought about the Governor; Lindsay Boyan had come out with a sexual harassment allegation. The tsunami rolled through his promising reputation as 10 additional women came forward with their stories.
An impeachment investigation had started (it had later been dropped), charges were being pressed, lawsuits established. And so, allegedly with his brother’s advice, Cuomo declared the scandal as a case of “cancel culture”. This statement, alone, defines a mentality that has arisen during this day and age of both social media and accountability in regards to these types of allegations. It adds to the conception of ‘she’s doing it for fame, for attention, for money” which further sets us back when handling these offenses.
After months of being pushed to resign, August 10, 2021 saw Andrew Cuomo had resigned from his position of Governor of New York. Frankly put, it was a bit gob-smacking to watch unfold. I had personally played with the idea of ‘Cuomosexual’, mainly out of my own New Yorker bias of agreeing with anything good coming out of my hometown. It had even come to the point where I had considered purchasing a ‘Cuomo for President’ tee-shirt of my own, as if I would ever fashionably support someone outside of music.
But, more importantly, it sets the tone for what this means for movements such as #MeToo and Time’s Up, who had their Chairwoman, Roberta Kaplan, on the Cuomo bandwagon leading to her own resignation. The main attribute of the situation boils down to accountability and consequence. With a major federal figure being held accountable for his disturbing actions towards women, it brings hope for other major figures in a variety of industries heading down the same pathway.
In the midst of the disastrous fusion that can only be described as the continuous unfolding of this situation, within it shares a sense of hope; which, again, contributes to any person of notability/power/celebrity. Being able to take off these rose-colored glasses we hold towards powerful individuals who show any sign of awareness of the outside world is societal growth. Hopefully, this newfound sense of urgency towards accountability can serve as a lesson to other powerful men who fail to meet the criteria of decency towards women as well as establishing social responsibility. Quite honestly, ‘Time’s Up’.
