'THROUPLE' TROUBLE
Ex-Rep Katie Hill admits she had ‘lack of boundaries’ as she discusses nude pics leak and bisexual relationship scandal
EX-REPRESENTATIVE Katie Hill admitted again that she had a “lack of boundaries” with her staff, nine months after she resigned amid her leaked nude photos and a bisexual relationship scandal.
, 32, who served in the for 10 months before stepping down in October, spoke about her past in an interview with NBC News’ released on Friday.
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The outlet asked Hill, who is openly bisexual, to weigh in on the double standard and misogyny she faced and if she thought a man would have experienced the same criticism and consequences.
“I fully admit that I have regrets around the lack of boundaries with my staff,” Hill said.
“And though my relationship with the campaign staffer was consensual, there was a power dynamic there that I didn't acknowledge at that time.”
Hill’s scandal started after a conservative news site reported that her estranged husband Kenneth Heslep accused her of sleeping with Graham Kelly, her male finance director.
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Then photos emerged of Hill kissing a 24-year-old female staffer, Morgan Desjardins, and of Hill naked and appearing to hold a bong.
The House Ethics Committee launched a probe into Hill’s alleged sexual relationships with two subordinate staff members, a male and a female.
Regarding a double standard, Hill said that “there are men currently in positions of power who have assaulted women and somehow that is dismissed and tolerated.”
“I do think the fact that I am a young woman, that it wasn't a traditional relationship and that I am a bisexual woman all played into the ways in which I was treated, none of which happens when men are in similar situations,” she said.
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Asked if she has any regrets, Hill reiterated: “As I mentioned previously, I do wish I had set different boundaries with my staff early on.”
She explained that when she first started her campaign, many of her staff were young adults in their 20s trying to achieve something many people thought was not possible.
“That led to relationships with staff that were much more like friendships than boss-employee relationships, and shifting the dynamic from the start is something I wish I had done,” she said.
Hill’s spoke similarly last week on , while promoting her new memoir, “She Will Rise: Becoming a Warrior for True Equity.”
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“The simplest way of describing it is I allowed myself to get too close to my staff and to not draw the clear boundaries that you should, and I think that was a trap I fell into,” she said.
In the Know Your Value interview, Hill said one of the reasons she resigned was so that her family, friends and supporters “wouldn't have to keep going through the pain of seeing images and private text messages be leaked.”
Hill’s new focus is on helping more women get elected into office.
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