A group of “cuomosexuals” have formed an online fan group for troubled governor Andrew Cuomo – and claim to have bombed a state hotline set up to report allegations against the governor, according to a new report.
Fans created the “Women for Governor Cuomo” Facebook page about a month ago – with some members urging people to confront her accusers online, attend pro-government rallies, and help fund supportive ads, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.
The group has more than 1,100 subscribers, mostly women over 55, some of whom say they called the hotline and left messages in their defense.
“Support for the governor is what brought us all together,” said Pamela Morley, a 41-year-old upstate theater manager who is one of the moderators for the Facebook group.
Cuomo, a 63-year-old divorced father, has been accused of inappropriate sexual behavior, including fumbling and kissing, by scores of women, many former assistants.
The governor – who won over a large, predominantly female audience, dubbed “Cuomosexuals,” during his daily COVID-19 briefings – vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
He again responded to the allegations against him last week by saying that if he had “touched people” it was only about things like shaking hands and not unwanted sexual advances.
Morley suggested that Cuomo’s kisses of women on the cheeks and hands were only part of his Italian heritage.
“This is not new,” she told the Journal.
Another Facebook fan club leader Sandy Behan, 68, insisted on the allegations against Cuomo: “There is nothing that a human resources professional could not have handled.
“One of the things they said was that he gave everyone roses on Valentine’s Day. I think it’s a good thing, ”she said.
A Facebook member posted a letter last month that she said she received from Cuomo thanking her for her efforts on his behalf, the outlet said.
“Please be sure to pass on my sincere gratitude to the rest of your group,” the governor reportedly said in the note.
Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi did not dispute the letter to the Journal – although he insisted that no one from the governor’s office or his campaign was involved in the group’s activities.
“The inhabitants of this great state know [Cuomo] works night and day for them, and – while we believe that negative speeches should be discouraged from all sides – to the extent that there are those who support our efforts outwardly, we appreciate and thank them, ”Azzopardi said .
The Facebook page is not entirely devoted to pro-Cuomo activism.
“I love to see the sun on her face,” one woman exclaimed, posting photos of the governor at an outdoor press conference, the WSJ said.
But a select group of a dozen women are meeting on weekly Zoom calls to plan their next real action in the governor’s defense, Morley said.
Some members believe the charges against Cuomo are politically motivated, while others do not believe they merit an eventual indictment, Morley said.
At least two other pro-Cuomo groups have appeared on Facebook in recent weeks, the Journal noted.
Lindsey Boylan – a former Cuomo aide who accused him of kissing her once without warning and joking that he would ‘ride’ her if she was a dog – has denounced some of the social media posts that some of the “Women for Governor Cuomo” have turned off.
“Online attacks like the ones I have received perpetuate a culture that prevents survivors from speaking out about the harassment and abuse they have suffered,” she told the Journal in a statement.
“We should hold our leaders accountable for their abuses rather than demolishing those who have the courage to speak the truth in power.”
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