Italian Americans mad at Cuomo for dismissing creepy behavior as cultural
Italian Americans are outraged that Gov. Andrew Cuomo appeared to try to write off his creepy behavior with women as “cultural behavioral differences.”
“The Italian culture, in general, gets so many bad reps that are so untrue – this has nothing to do with being Italian. It’s the man who he is,” Adeline Sessa, whose family owns Ferrara Bakery & Cafe in Little Italy, told The Post.
“We Italians refuse to acknowledge Cuomo as a member of la famiglia,” one Twitter user who goes by Malvagio wrote.
Cuomo, who resigned Tuesday in the wake of an official investigation that concluded he sexually harassed at least 11 women, was blasted for trying to reframe allegations of unwanted kissing and groping against him as a misunderstanding due to his upbringing in an affectionate Italian American family.
“We’re very affectionate people. When we do kiss, we kiss family, we kiss good friends. The only difference is I don’t stick my hand up anybody’s blouse,” James Bari, who is the co-owner of restaurant Benito One in Little Italy, told The Post.
“We’re not that affectionate to stick my hand up a girl’s blouse,” Bari said, referring to an allegation from Cuomo’s aide Brittany Commisso that the governor slipped his hand up her shirt.
Frank Palmari, 56, who lives in Chelsea on a Green card from Italy, agreed that “there’s a way you do things.”
“Because you’re Italian that doesn’t mean you could touch or kiss women the way you wanted. What about if it was his own daughter? Would you like that to happen to your daughter?” Palmari said.
“I find it disrespectful to the culture and to the women,” he added.
Other Italian American New Yorkers fumed that the disgraced governor’s behavior went against Italian values.
“I was raised by Italians … one thing I was taught is that you don’t force yourself on a woman. I was just taught that from day one by the men in my family. So he don’t have no respect,” Gaetano Martello, 25, who lives in Bay Ridge, told The Post.
Cuomo, whose grandparents were Italian immigrants, has repeatedly tried to defend himself against the alleged unwanted encounters detailed in a report from Attorney General Letitia James’ office as the result of “cultural behavioral differences.”
“I do hug and kiss people casually — women and men, I have done it all my life. It’s who I’ve been since I can remember,” the governor said in his tone-deaf, televised, 22-minute address announcing his resignation.
“In my mind, I’ve never crossed the line with anyone. But, I didn’t realize the extent to which the line has been redrawn. There are generational and cultural shifts that I just didn’t fully appreciate,” he continued.
“There is an intelligent discussion to be had on gender-based actions, on generational and cultural behavioral differences, on setting higher standards and finding reasonable resolutions,” the governor later added.
Cuomo said Tuesday that his resignation will take effect in 14 days, at which time Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul will assume the role.
The disgraced governor, however, still faces separate criminal probes in at least five New York state counties into the allegations of forcible touching of multiple women.
