Video of Gov. Cuomo Telling Female Reporter to ‘Eat The Whole Sausage’ Creeps Everyone Out Except the Reporter Herself

If you’re unsure whether or not something qualifies as sexual harassment, all you have to do is ask the person at whom the inappropriate comments were made. It really doesn’t have to be more complicated than that. If they’re cool with it, it means there was no victim. If they’re not, listen and respect their experience, then punish the offender accordingly.

Ah, but the world is not so black and white. And the line between creepy and predatory just gets blurrier and blurrier every day. The latest man under the microscope? New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. Amidst (legitimate) claims of sexual harassment by former staffers and acquaintances of the Democratic governor, a video emerged on social media from the 2016 New York State Fair that has gawkers shaking their heads.

In the video, Cuomo challenged a female journalist to “eat the whole sausage” as he watched.

just thinking back to that time NY Governor Andrew Cuomo hounded a local news reporter to “eat the whole sausage” pic.twitter.com/EyNxFavOyG

— Matt Binder (@MattBinder) February 28, 2021

“I want to see you eat the whole sausage,” Cuomo told then-NewsChannel 9 reporter Beth Cefalu, as his daughter Michaela looked (uncomfortably) on.

“I don’t know if I should eat the whole sausage in front of you, but I’m definitely going to eat it,” Cefalu responded.

The flirtatious duo took a selfie together – and included the phallic food in the pic.

“There’s too much sausage in that picture,” Cuomo said, causing nearby eaters to chuckle.

When the video was shared on Twitter this week, commenters immediately gathered with pitchforks to weigh in on whether or not Cuomo’s behavior crossed the line.

“It’s almost like he’s sexually harassing her in front of everybody and they’re just okay with it, probably because they’re used to it,” a (now deleted) tweet read.

“His daughter looks so uncomfortable! Ew!!!” another said.

“When creepy met cringe,” a third contributed.

Valid points, perhaps? But we have to say, we’re leaning towards no harm, no foul, like these folks…

Sometimes a sausage is just a sausage. I don’t see any foul play here. You can clearly hear the convo at the beginning, where he comments her filming him eating a sandwich and jokingly challenges her to do the same.

— Faunia (@Faunia4Prez) February 28, 2021

I dislike this dude as much as anyone but it’s nonsense like this getting mixed up with actual allegations that water down the whole thing.

He’s eating a hot dog, he’s obviously not that happy about being recorded scarfing one down and then asks her to eat one, she says yes.

— Jawn Wilkes in the Booth (@Forever_Evil_X) February 28, 2021

From what we can see in the video, the banter goes both ways. He entertains her because she’s young and attractive; she entertains him because he’s powerful and gives her good material. It’s tit for tat, people.

But don’t take it from us; take it from the journalist herself.

I was not pressured/harassed

this is two people enjoying the one event – the NYS fair – that gives them a little more freedom to be informal. Its really sad it’s being turned into anything more. https://t.co/sISlRUR8ER

— Beth Cefalu (@BethanyCefalu) March 1, 2021

“I was not pressured/harassed this is two people enjoying the one event – the NYS fair – that gives them a little more freedom to be informal,” tweeted Cefalu, who now works for News 12 in Westchester. “It’s really sad it’s being turned into anything more.”

By all means, take accusations of sexual harassment seriously. Believe women. But when two opportunistic people just want to share a bad sausage joke, let them.

Cover Photo: Twitter

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