Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (D) was on ABC’s “The View” to talk about his presidential campaign when he was pressed on reports that he fostered a work environment at his company that made female employees uncomfortable.
On Wednesday, Bloomberg was asked why he had not released former employees from nondisclosure agreements by co-host Abby Huntsman.
Huntsman noted that several women had filed lawsuits against Bloomberg’s company claiming he created an environment that made them feel uncomfortable.
She also quoted Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) who asked during an appearance on the show, “If your company has an enviable record, what do you have to hide?”
“We don’t have anything to hide,” Bloomberg responded, adding, “But we made legal agreements which both sides wanted to keep certain things from coming out.”
He continued:
“You don’t take away anyone’s right to say what they want to say. They can continue to do that. They just made an agreement, the company made an agreement, that we wouldn’t discuss a certain thing,”
Watch his comments below:
“We don’t have anything to hide but we made legal agreements,” Michael Bloomberg tells the co-hosts when asked about his refusal to release women who’ve worked at his company from confidentiality agreements after some alleged hostile work environments. https://t.co/f8u2wbJuik pic.twitter.com/pdUegqf18M
— The View (@TheView) January 15, 2020
However, he did admit that he made some off-color jokes, and said, “It’s embarrassing,” but it was part of “the way I grew up.”
“Did I ever tell a bawdy joke? Yeah, sure I did. And do I regret it? Yes, it’s embarrassing. But, you know, that’s the way I grew up.”
When pressed by Huntsman if he wanted to release them from the confidentiality agreements, Bloomberg said, “No. We have an agreement, couldn’t do it even if we wanted to.”
Bloomberg has faced criticism over reports that he made inappropriate jokes and comments about female employees.
In December, ABC News reported that at least 17 women had filed a lawsuit against Bloomberg’s company claiming that he created a toxic work environment.
After that report was published, Warren called on Bloomberg to release former employees from nondisclosure agreements, “I think [nondisclosure agreements] are a way for people to hide bad things they’ve done. And I think that women should be able to speak,” as IJR has previously reported.
Bloomberg’s campaign responded to the story saying he realized that the reported comments were inappropriate and that he “believes his words have not always aligned with his values.”
