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The “bro culture” and bullying on Andrew Yang’s presidential campaign was so intense, some woman claim they were left emotionally scarred by working there.
One high-ranking former campaign official with a decade of experience under her belt said she was sidelined in favor a 21-year-old man, then given a financial settlement to make a quiet exit, according to Business Insider.
Another woman claims she was fired from Yang’s presidential campaign for reporting social media harassment from Yang’s followers, reported Business Insider, which interviewed nine former staffers about the allegations.
Yang, a high profile candidate to replace Mayor de Blasio, admitted his failed bid for the White House didn’t make sure all employees were “heard and respected.”
The presidential campaign team “didn’t account for how much our male-dominated culture alienated female and non-binary employees. I wish we had. For that I am deeply sorry,” Yang said in a statement to The Post.
The former Democratic presidential candidate has faced accusations of a male-dominated culture within his political team and former graduate test prep company as far back as 2019.
“The problem is, in general, this campaign is being run by bros who promote bros,” one former presidential campaign staffer told Business Insider.
Allison Groves moved from California to Iowa to be a regional organizing director for Yang’s 2020 run, only to end up driving around a field organizer, the outlet reported.
She was promised the job of deputy director, but the gig went to a younger man with a background in digital communications and no college degree, she claimed.
Groves had been active in California Democratic politics for at least the last 10 years, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Groves, who could not be reached for comment by The Post, was offered a $6,000 settlement in exchange for silence about certain issues. Under the deal, the campaign would not admit wrongdoing, she told Business Insider.
Even alerting the campaign to social media harassment from a group of Yang supporters known as “Basecamp” was grounds for firing, another female volunteer claimed.
“I was attacked by male Yang Gang publicly [sic], called a liar, an attention whore, a control freak, etc.,” the anonymous woman wrote to Yang senior management, according to the report.
Some women said they need professional counseling to overcome the treatment they endured while working for Yang’s campaign.
“It f—ed up my self-worth to be constantly belittled and bullied,” one former staffer said.
Yang said, “many of those responsible for the problematic culture are no longer with the campaign.”
His mayoral campaign now requires employees to sign controversial nondisclosure agreements, the campaign told The Post.
In the past, Lift Our Voices, a nonprofit seeking to end NDAs, has claimed Yang among its supporters.
The campaign defended its use of the agreements to The Post.
“Anyone who experiences sexual harassment in the workplace should be empowered to come forward and make a complaint,” spokesman Jake Sporn said. “In fact, one of the primary goals of the agreement was to ensure that our volunteers clearly understood that such conduct would not be tolerated by the campaign.”
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