Elizabeth Warren revealed a law professor's alleged sexual harassment while eulogizing him at his funeral


Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) won't deny the late University of Houston law professor Eugene Smith played a role in getting her where she is today.
But the presidential candidate was also frank about Smith's alleged sexual harassment while she taught at UH. So frank that she revealed the story of him "lunging at" and "chasing" her around her his office at his funeral, The Washington Post reports in a profile of Warren published Tuesday.
After taking classes at UH, Warren applied for a professorship there in 1978. That's when Smith took her to dinner with the hiring committee and, unable to cut his steak due to his post-polio syndrome, pushed it to Warren and implied she should do it for him. "Can't you tell I'm crippled?" retired UH professor John Mixon, who was at the dinner, recalled him saying. "I thought you knew that when you ordered the steak," Warren replied. The whole table laughed, and Warren was hired.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But with that moment, Warren knew worse things would come. Faculty members treated her like a "second-class citizen," she said. And Smith, who was essentially "the gatekeeper to her future," made uncomfortable comments about her appearance, "told dirty jokes, and invited her out for drinks," the Post writes. Warren "thought she was managing him" until that day in his office in early 1979. She kept quiet about it because "if Gene wanted to sink me, he could," she said.
That is, she kept quiet until his funeral, where Smith had asked her to speak. And she did, telling Smith's ex-wife, his three grown sons, and the rest of the "slack-jawed" crowd what happened in Smith's office, Mixon recalled. Read more at The Washington Post.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's ills
Speed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Court says labor board's structure unconstitutional
Speed Read The ruling has broad implications for labor rights enforcement in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi
-
Feds seek harsh charges in DC arrests, except for rifles
Speed Read The DOJ said 465 arrests had been made in D.C. since Trump federalized law enforcement there two weeks ago
-
Court says labor board's structure unconstitutional
Speed Read The ruling has broad implications for labor rights enforcement in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi
-
Feds seek harsh charges in DC arrests, except for rifles
Speed Read The DOJ said 465 arrests had been made in D.C. since Trump federalized law enforcement there two weeks ago
-
Trump taps Missouri AG to help lead FBI
Speed Read Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has been appointed FBI co-deputy director, alongside Dan Bongino
-
Trump warms to Kyiv security deal in summit
Speed Read Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Trump's support for guaranteeing his country's security 'a major step forward'
-
DC protests as Trump deployment ramps up
Speed Read Trump's 'crusade against crime' is targeting immigrants and the homeless
-
Ukraine, European leaders to meet Trump after Putin talks
Speed Read Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy today following talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week
-
Border agents crash Newsom redistricting kickoff
Speed Read Armed federal Border Patrol agents amassed outside the venue where the California governor and other Democratic leaders were gathered
-
Man charged for hoagie attack as DC fights takeover
Speed Read The Trump administration filed felony charges against a man who threw a Subway sandwich at a federal agent