SerpApi.Org
A Florida Republican is facing calls to resign after he was found liable for sexually harassing two of his male staffers.
Calls for State Rep. Fabián Basabe to bow out of office come in addition to his being ordered to pay his former aides—a legislative assistant and an intern—a combined $450,000 in damages.
“Rep. Basabe’s behavior is disgusting, and I am disturbed that the Republican leadership in the House engaged in a cover-up to shield Rep. Basabe from the consequences of his actions,” said the chair of the Florida Democratic Party, Nikki Fried, in a statement. “Rep. Basabe has no business holding public office for another day; he must resign immediately.”
Basabe, who was a cast member on the mid-2000s reality show Filthy Rich: Cattle Drive, has denied any wrongdoing. The lawsuit was filed against him in July 2023 but concluded last week.
The suit claimed that Basabe once slapped an aide, Nicolas Frevola, in the rear and told him, “I want all of that butt.” The aide also alleged that Basabe once slapped him across the face.
A Florida House Human Resources Department probe found that Basabe had inappropriately touched an aide but concluded that the slapping claim was “inconclusive.”
Basabe’s former unpaid intern, Jacob Cutbirth, alleged that the state lawmaker groped him, tried to kiss him, and invited him up to his room when he drove him to a hotel after he had been drinking.
Cutbirth, then 24, alleged that Basabe, 48, called him “eye candy,” asked if he had a “big d--k,” and told him that flirting with him was part of his job. Cutbirth alleged that Basabe also urged him to call off his engagement to his girlfriend and “explore his sexuality by having sex with men.”
Both former staffers alleged that Basabe showed them a nude photo of a man and encouraged them to have casual sex. They also said he told them he was a “bottom” and wanted them to be “tops.”
Basabe, who chose to represent himself, appeared nervous in court.
“I remembered all of my statement wrong,” he reportedly told a judge. “I’m kind of freaking out right now.”
In a statement, he later said he regretted the decision to represent himself.
“Looking back, representing myself was a mistake,” his statement read. “I underestimated how different civil litigation is from what most people believe. It operates under different standards, different procedures, and different rules. That is the lesson I take from today.”
The representative, who once claimed to be gay, campaigned as a moderate Republican who supported LGBTQ+ rights. However, he voted in favor of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law and banning children from drag performances.
Basabe rode in Miami Beach’s Gay Pride parade in 2023, but was excluded from the parade the following year by organizers who cited security concerns. He is seeking reelection this fall.
