Former Cuomo aide discusses new book at UAlbany's Writers Institute

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Melissa DeRosa, a former aide to ex-governor Andrew Cuomo, spoke at the University at Albany on Wednesday night.

DeRosa served as Secretary to the Governor before she and Cuomo resigned amid a scandal involving sexual harassment allegations and alleged mishandling of nursing homes and COVID-19 deaths.

DeRosa was a guest of the Writers Institute at UAlbany to discuss her new book, a memoir titled "What's Left Unsaid." DeRosa gave a defense of her and Cuomo's actions during the pandemic and blames much of the criticism aimed at her on a hostile media, something she said comes with the territory.

"Everyone is entitled to have a position on what happened, and for a number of years, I was batted around like a piñata by the press, and there were a lot of things said about me that weren't true and a lot of things said about the administration that were not true," she said. "And the same way I get to tell my story, I respect that people are going to have their own views and their own criticisms. And it is what it is. You get into the boxing ring, and you're gonna get punched in the face, but you're in the ring to fight back."

DeRosa also said the Me Too movement was weaponized to force Cuomo out of office, and she said the attorney general's report into sexual harassment allegations was filled with lies.

She also said she's not done with politics.