Time’s Up President Tina Tchen resigns

Time’s Up President and Chief Executive Tina Tchen resigned Thursday, becoming the organization’s second longtime leader to depart amid the scandal over the organization’s involvement with former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

“Leading Time’s Up has been a hugely rewarding experience and we have accomplished much together that has made work better for women across the country,” Tchen wrote Thursday afternoon in a Twitter message.

But Tchen, a longtime corporate lawyer and former chief of staff for former first lady Michelle Obama, said it was time for her to step aside.

“Now is the time for Time’s Up to evolve and move forward as there is so much more work to do for women,” Tchen wrote. “It is clear that I am not the leader who can accomplish that in this moment. I am especially aware that my position at the helm of Time’s Up has become a painful and divisive focal point.”

Tchen, who has long been active in Chicago politics, took over the organization in late 2019 after its first chief executive, Lisa Borders, was forced to resign.

The Washington Post reported late Wednesday that Tchen in December blocked the release of a statement in support of Lindsey Boylan, the first woman to come forward to accuse Cuomo of sexual harassment.

The nearly 4-year old nonprofit organization has been reeling from revelations about its leaders’ ties to Cuomo.

Earlier this month, the group’s former chairwoman, Roberta Kaplan, resigned after it was revealed that her private law firm was representing a key lieutenant of Cuomo’s and that Kaplan had helped coordinate communications with the former governor’s staff.

Former members of Time’s Up and some sexual abuse victims say the group has strayed from its mission, failed the women who needed its help the most and allowed itself to be corrupted by the very power it once pledged to harness.

The crisis comes four years after the Harvey Weinstein scandal galvanized the #MeToo movement, prompting a parade of Hollywood elite led by Oprah Winfrey and Reese Witherspoon to proclaim their campaign at the 2018 Golden Globes awards show. Time’s Up raised $20 million to help sex abuse victims mount legal cases.

Survivors have complained that Time’s Up has lost sight of its core mission — to advocate for safe working spaces.

“Time’s Up has prioritized its proximity to power over mission,” read a letter signed by more than 100 women earlier this month.