“We do not laugh, and we do not turn our backs and walk away,” Ms. Wiley added.
The video attributed to comedian Lawrence Reese has tallied over 30,000 views on YouTube in roughly 24 hours.
State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi and Assemblymembers Catalina Cruz, Carmen De La Rosa, Linda Rosenthal and Nily Rozic also released a statement saying it was another instance “in a long list of troubling evidence about Yang‘s character that follows countless reports of toxic masculinity, misogyny and bro-culture that have defined his past campaigns and companies.”
The women said they “couldn’t believe our eyes or ears. When Andrew Yang was asked by supporters about violently assaulting women, he responded by laughing. But this isn’t a laughing matter, and it isn’t just ‘locker room talk.’ Language like this perpetuates real violence against women. … This is disqualifying for someone who is seeking to be mayor of New York.”