Time's Up CEO Tina Tchen resigns amid fallout over Cuomo controversy

CEO of Time's Up Now and the Time's Up Foundation Tina Tchen is stepping down from her position after two years with the sexual assault victim advocacy group, she announced Thursday evening. Tchen resigned after a report from the Washington Post alleged that she worked to prevent the organization from issuing a statement in support of Lindsay Boylan, the first woman to publicly accuse former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment.

"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 in a statement shared to Twitter. "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, where those very women and other activists who should be working together to fight for change are instead battling each other in harmful ways."  On Wednesday, the Washington Post reported that Tchen texted senior Time's Up advisers to "stand down" from releasing a statement in support of Boylan after the group was asked to comment by Fox News. Tchen's message allegedly went out after two people connected to the organization spoke with Cuomo's former advisor Melissa DeRosa, who reportedly wrote her own letter attacking Boylan's character. DeRosa's letter was never widely disseminated.