Mike: OK, accusers can talk
Michael Bloomberg offered Friday to rescind hush agreements that his namesake company drew up for three women who accused him of sexual harassment.
In a statement released by his presidential campaign, the billionaire ex-mayor said Bloomberg LP inked the nondisclosure agreements to “address complaints about comments” the three women allege he made over “the past 30-plus years.”
Bloomberg did not elaborate, but a campaign spokeswoman confirmed to the Daily News that the NDAs cover sexual harassment claims against the former mayor.
“There are only three allegations against Mike for jokes he made,” the spokeswoman said.
Bloomberg did not identify the accusers but said they should reach out to his company if they want to be released from their NDAs.
“They’ll be given a release,” he said.
Bloomberg’s announcement came on the heels of Elizabeth Warren harshly criticizing him during Wednesday night’s debate over his refusal to quash the hush contracts.
Warren followed up Thursday by tweeting that Bloomberg could “easily release the women” from the contracts.
Bloomberg appears to have been swayed by Warren’s line of attack and pledged to never again use NDAs for harassment claims.
“I’ve done a lot of reflecting on this issue over the past few days, and I’ve decided that for as long as I’m running the company, we won’t offer confidentiality agreements to resolve claims of sexual harassment or misconduct,” he said. “I recognize that NDAs, particularly when they are used in the context of sexual harassment and sexual assault, promote a culture of silence in the workplace and contribute to a culture of women not feeling safe or supported.”