Lisa Borders' Son Accused Of Sexual Misconduct, Caused Time's Up CEO Resignation

In a somewhat ironical development, the reason behind Time's Up CEO Lisa Borders abrupt resignation — which was announced Monday — was revealed Thursday. Borders’ son Garry “Dijon” Bowden Jr. was accused of sexual misconduct a few days ago, making her position as the organization's CEO untenable.

In a Facebook post on Feb. 14, a 31-year-old woman from Santa Monica, California, alleged Bowden was sexually inappropriate with her. In her post, Celia Gellert said Bowden, a photographer, podcast host and life coach, offered her a “healing session” during which he allegedly touched her private parts, kissed her neck and brushed his clothed but erect penis against her.

Bowden’s attorney, Alan Jackson, claimed Bowden was giving Gellert a healing massage that she had requested for. He showed text messages the two exchanged, where Gellert thanked Bowden after the massage and called it “gentle authentic and loving,” the Los Angeles Times reported.

Jackson further said Bowden denied all claims that any inappropriate or nonconsensual took place at any time. In her post on Facebook, Gellert said she shared it because she didn’t want anyone else going through the same experience as her “and I want to be strong and stand my ground and speak my truth.”

When she resigned, Borders said she needed “to address family concerns that require my singular focus.” According to LA Times, Borders found herself in conflict with the basic purpose of the Time’s Up movement and wanting to support her son.

When the allegations against Bowden came to light Feb. 18, and were taken to the board members of Time’s Up by Borders, she volunteered to resign. The resignation was accepted, and in a statement Thursday, the board said: “We remain steadfast in our mission to create safe, fair and dignified work for women of all kinds.”

Bowden and Gellert had different accounts of their Jan. 21 encounter which took place at the latter's house. Gellert claims Bowden instructed her to undress and lie on a mat on a massage table, after which he proceeded to slather her with coconut oil. Saying he touched her in inappropriate places, Gellert said she froze.

When she told him she was uncomfortable with the massage, he told her to trust him and then “he kissed the back of my neck, brushed his penis on my arm, jiggled my buttocks and blew air on my private area.”

She also said she told Bowden about disturbing dreams she had post the session, to which he suggested the name of another healer.

Bowden claims she thanked him for the session, and called the massage “gentle and authentic and loving,” while telling him he was “soul family/angelic soul.”

Gellert spoke to her friends about the incident, and then wrote the post on Facebook that prompted Borders’ resignation. With Borders stepping down, Rebecca Goldman will serve as the organization’s interim CEO.

Time’s Up started in January 2018 after several women accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct. With more than 300 Hollywood women vowing to raise their voices on the behalf of women who lack power, the group has now expanded its campaign for gender equality and workplace safety across the board. The legal defense fund of Time’s Up raised more than $22 million to help victims follow up on their harassment and abuse claims.