HRC fires its president over Andrew Cuomo connection
Alphonso David, the president of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ rights group, has been fired over his involvement in advising former New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo how to respond to sexual assault allegations.
The Human Rights Campaign said in a statement that Alphonso David had been relieved of his duties because “his actions have put us in an untenable position by violating HRC’s core values, policies and mission.”
David has pushed back against the termination and tweeted that he will launch a legal challenge.
The dismissal, which was effective immediately, was the result of an investigation into David’s role advising Cuomo how to respond to the complaints of 11 women who alleged sexual harassment. The Human Rights Campaign said this association caused “material damage” to the organization’s standing.
“Additionally, this conduct has created damage to Mr. David’s reputation significant enough to impair his ability to effectively serve as the public face and voice” of the organization, it said. Meantime, Joni Madison, the organization’s current chief operating officer, will fill David’s role.
David is not the only high profile LGBTQ luminary to be sullied from the fallout of Andrew Cuomo’s fall from grace. Marriage equality legal pioneer Roberta A. Kaplan was forced to resign as chairwoman of Time’s Up, the organization founded by Hollywood women to fight sexual abuse and promote gender equality in the industry and beyond, after Kaplan was found to be involved in an effort to discredit one of Mr. Cuomo’s alleged victims.
