Bloomberg's MeToo Moment: Democratic Hopeful Hit By Allegations Of Sexism Involving Multiple Women

This past weekend, Michael Bloomberg, former New York City Mayor and Democratic nominee hopeful, said that his company had an “enviable record” for its treatment of women. It turns out, however, that that might not actually be entirely accurate, as Bloomberg finds himself the latest in the list of powerful men to be hit by the MeToo movement.

A recent report from ABC News found that multiple women working under Bloomberg in the 1990s allegedly faced sexually explicit and demeaning remarks from him, but have been compelled by nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) to remain silent on the matter.

Shortly after this surfaced, fellow Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) called on Bloomberg to address these reports. “They need to be released from [their NDAs],” she said, adding that, “I think [NDAs] are a way for people to hide bad things they've done … [Bloomberg] has to answer for them.”

While Bloomberg’s campaign has yet to address these allegations, Warren and others are mounting pressure on the former mayor to allow the women referred to in the report to be legally allowed to share their sides of the story with the public.

Former Bloomberg employee Sekiko Sakai filed a lawsuit against his company in 1997 alleging sexually inappropriate remarks were made against female employees. The suit was eventually concluded when a settlement was reached and Sakai agreed to sign a NDA. Sakai’s lawyer during the lawsuit, Bonnie Josephs, said of the recent report that the public deserves to know what actually happened if Bloomberg intends to be president. Bloomberg’s company has settled five other similar lawsuits in the past.

With an increasing amount of attention being paid to women’s stories of sexual harassment and abuse at the hands of powerful and influential men, Bloomberg may find himself struggling to handle a scandal that could very well prove severely damaging to his nomination campaign.

The highly competitive field of presidential nominee hopefuls in the Democratic Party is nearing a critical phase this Thursday, when the final debate will be held in Los Angeles. It is unknown whether these allegations against Bloomberg will be raised during the debate, though it is unlikely as Bloomberg is disqualified from participating due to his policy of declining outside campaign donations.

Recent polls show Warren holding third place nationally, behind former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Bloomberg is ranked sixth at 4 percent.

If the latest report is proved true, the billionaire politician will be the latest among many powerful men to be hit by the MeToo movement against sexual harassment and sexual assault. The movement gained a new life after sexual-abuse allegations were leveled against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein in October 2017. Several celebrities came out with support for the movement, leading to high-profile firings, as the movement swept America and the world.

Weinstein faces accusatiosn of sexual assault and harassment from dozens of women. His trial is set to begin on Jan. 6.

Among the others scalded by the movement are former U.S. Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar of Michigan State University, who was accused of assaulting at least 250 young women and girls. Two-time Oscar winner Kevin Spacey has been hit by MeToo allegations from more than 30 people including actor Anthony Rapp.

Bloomberg's troubles on this front are not new knowledge. In November, Slate.com headlined a story on the media mogul's past sexism headlined "Michael Bloomberg Is the He, Too, Candidate." That article also contains a link to a Gawker.com rundown of some of the notable allegations of sexism leveled against Bloomberg. Read it here.