Warren says Bloomberg ‘has to answer’ for alleged sexist remarks

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said Monday that former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg “has to answer” for alleged past sexist remarks. 

Warren told reporters at a campaign event in Fort Madison, Iowa, that her fellow presidential candidate needs to address past allegations that he created a hostile work environment for women at his company, ABC News reported.

“When women raise concerns like this, we have to pay attention,” Warren said. “We have to listen to them, and if Michael Bloomberg has made comments like this, then he has to answer for them.”

The Massachusetts progressive also called for the women who signed nondisclosure agreements with Bloomberg’s company to be released from the contracts so they could to talk about the past allegations. 

“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,” Warren said.

Warren’s remarks follow a Business Insider report last month about several lawsuits alleging Bloomberg made sexist comments that made women uncomfortable in the workplace.

The presidential candidate has denied the accusations, saying Sunday that his company has an “enviable record” of gender equality.

“There will always be somebody that’s not happy, but we are — we do very well in terms of attracting men and women to come to work in the company, and the retention rate with both of them is good as I think any real company,” Bloomberg said, according to ABC News. “So, I’m very proud of what we do.”

The Hill reached out to Bloomberg’s campaign and company for comment.

Sekiko Sakai sued Bloomberg’s company in 1997 for sexually explicit and derogatory remarks about women. Her lawyer Bonnie Josephs reportedly said, “If Mr. Bloomberg is running for president, I think the public needs to know what actually happened in this business.”