How brazen text messages, alleged harassment, and Title IX investigations led to the downfall of the New School Comedy Club

Three New School students alleged that during the Spring 2023 semester, the former New School Comedy Club president made unwanted advances toward them, and that their faculty advisor and former SNL cast member, Ellen Cleghorne, defended him when they brought their concerns to her attention.  

The students — Cooper T., Rosey Perry, and Dixie Elkins — alleged that fellow student Andrew Miller, who was 30 years old at the time and president of the club (known officially as The New School Comedy Club Club), made unwanted sexual advances toward them at two separate locations on Feb. 26, 2023.

The New School Free Press granted a request from Cooper T. to only use his first name and last initial for fear of retaliation against him or his family.

When Elkins reported the incident to Cleghorne in a text message, Cleghorne expressed sympathy for Elkins and acknowledged that the situation had escalated beyond her control. She wrote that as a mandatory reporter, she was required to inform the university of the incident. But, in the same text message chain, she also suggested that Elkins was trying to dismantle the club with the accusations against Miller. The Free Press reviewed these text messages.

All three students either filed complaints or shared their experiences with The New School’s Title IX office. The office eventually informed the three via an email sent to Elkins that they would not continue their investigation against Miller, with no specific reasoning as to why. The Title IX office stated that the Student Conduct and Community Services office would move forward with any further assistance. Miller received a verbal warning from the Student Conduct and Community Services office for general misconduct which the university defined as “conduct unbecoming of a student member of the university community.” Elkins, Perry, and Cooper said they subsequently filed no-contact orders against Miller with the university, which were granted. 

McKenna Merriman, another comedy club member, filed her own Title IX report against Cleghorne due to the advisor’s alleged pattern of dismissing female students’ concerns regarding Miller’s behavior. 

In an email reviewed by the Free Press, the Title IX office found that Cleghorne violated the University Policy on Harassment, Discrimination, Prohibited Relationships, Title IX and Non-Title IX Sexual Harassment and Misconduct. The Title IX office then forwarded their investigative report and recommendations for action to Mary Watson, the former executive dean of the Schools of Public Engagement. Spring 2023 was the last semester that Cleghorne, who was a part-time faculty member, taught at TNS. It is unclear whether she was let go as a result of the investigation. 

The Free Press reached out to the Title IX office for comment on this story, but it declined to provide a statement citing confidentiality reasons. 

Cleghorne did not respond to the Free Press’ multiple requests for comment via email and phone. When the Free Press reached out to the executive dean’s office, the university’s public relations office responded, “the university does not comment on confidential Title IX investigations.”

Miller told the Free Press he does not recall the incidents that led to the allegations from Cooper and denied making advances toward Perry and Elkins.

“Did my friends see me just get kissed on the lips by this older guy?” 

Cooper T. said that he and Andrew Miller met during the fall 2022 semester in Ellen Cleghorne’s “You’re So Funny” comedy class. That semester the comedy club was seeking new members, and since they were the only two that applied to join, Cleghorne designated Miller as the club’s president and Cooper as vice president. At the time, Miller was 11 years older than Cooper.

On Feb. 26, 2023, when Cooper performed at Gotham Comedy Club, he recalled being full of adrenaline. It was his first booked stand-up show, and people from all over the city had paid to watch him perform. 

But as he walked off stage, Cooper said he felt Miller’s hands grab his face, pulling him into a full-mouth kiss, unwanted and unprovoked. When Miller let go of his grasp, Cooper said he stumbled back in surprise. 

Cooper said he remembered thinking, “Did my friends see me just get kissed on the lips by this older guy?”

The Free Press was unable to corroborate this allegation with eyewitnesses, but Cooper messaged his friend, Rosey Perry, later that night and expressed embarrassment with Miller’s presence at the show. The Free Press reviewed these text messages.

One week after the comedy show, Cooper said he recounted the kiss to fellow club members Dixie Elkins, Nicole Desmond, and Sophie Stevenson. All three confirmed with the Free Press that he had confided in them.

Miller told the Free Press he does not recall this incident and had not heard about the accusation prior to the Free Press’ request for comment. “As far as I know, we were cool,” Miller said. “I mean, that very well could be something I did as a joke. Just being silly with who I thought was a buddy of mine.”

“I’m just really shaken from [tonight].” 

After Cooper’s show, Perry, who had helped him book the gig, invited him to join a group at the bar next door, Jake’s Saloon. Miller asked to join, but Cooper said he told Miller that he wasn’t comfortable with Miller tagging along. 

Miller said that he does not recall Cooper explicitly saying not to come.

Cooper and Perry messaged each other throughout that evening expressing discomfort in exchanges that were reviewed by the Free Press. 

At the bar, Perry’s friend Grace Somich said Miller introduced himself to her and asked her if she could be his “liaison” to the rest of the group, telling her he knew Cooper. 

As the evening progressed, Perry said Miller sat between her and Cooper. Three sources who were present at the bar that evening also confirmed with the Free Press that they recalled Miller and Perry sitting beside each other. 

Perry claimed that Miller then turned to her and asked if she was “the Rosey Perry” he’d heard of from Cooper. Perry said Miller then insisted she quit doing comedy at other clubs to join the TNS Comedy Club and inquired about her “credits” in the industry.

Perry told him that she had been pursuing comedy since she was 16 — opening for well-respected comedians and interning for esteemed clubs in the city. She said she told Miller, “I’m not gonna jeopardize my position in my career to do more extracurriculars at school.”

According to Perry, Miller then allegedly grabbed her thigh and said, “If you keep talking down to me like that, it’ll give me a boner.” 

Cooper told the Free Press he witnessed this exchange. A few minutes later, Perry sent Cooper a text asking him to “wrap this up.” The Free Press reviewed these messages. Perry later told the Free Press she was referring to wanting Miller to leave. For the second time that night, Cooper said he asked Miller to leave. 

Miller said he has a different recollection of events. He said he told Perry, “How do you flirt with people at bars these days? Like ‘Oh, excuse me, my dear, I have you a boner.’” He said he did not recall Perry responding to him and denied grabbing her thigh.

Once Perry arrived home, she texted Somich saying, “I’m just really shaken from [tonight].” According to the texts between the pair reviewed by the Free Press, Perry confirmed her discomfort throughout the evening but did not mention Miller grabbing her thigh or a specific comment. Somich told the Free Press that she recalls Perry telling her about the thigh grab and Miller’s comment later in person. 

“I was extremely uncomfortable. It was so clear through my body language.” 

Comedy Club member Dixie Elkins attended Cooper’s comedy show intending to support her friend after receiving an extra ticket from Cleghorne who was unable to attend. Upon arriving at Gotham Comedy Club, Elkins told the Free Press that Miller was seated at a table by himself, and he waved her and her friend over to join him. 

The two said Miller insisted on buying them drinks, which Elkins and her underage friend declined. They said Miller ignored their rejections and ordered drinks for the table anyway.

Elkins said Miller appeared intoxicated and draped his arm over the back of her chair and made suggestive jokes. As she moved away from Miller, she said he continued to close the gap, leaning toward her. 

By the night’s end, Elkins said she had attempted to distance herself from Miller by moving her chair, so much so that she remembered her whole body pressed against the wall of the club. “Throughout the night, I was extremely uncomfortable. It was so clear through my body language,” Elkins said. “I realized … he doesn’t understand boundaries. He doesn’t understand body language. He’s not someone who should be running the club, period.” 

Elkins’ friend, who was granted anonymity because of safety concerns, confirmed with the Free Press that she witnessed Miller closer to Elkins. Miller stated that the group was sitting near the kitchen door, making it necessary for him to move closer inward to avoid colliding with servers passing by.

Miller said that Cleghorne had told him where Elkins would be seated at the show and had prompted him to settle prior comedy club issues that evening. He said he recalls pulling a piece of paper out of Elkins’ hair but does not remember making any suggestive jokes.

He said that he bought two drinks to reach the minimum drink requirement but did not pressure the two into drinking them; instead, he drank them himself. Once the show ended, Elkins said she and her friend congratulated Cooper and quickly left. 

At her dorm, Elkins ran into her comedy club friend McKenna Merriman, who told the Free Press she recalls Elkins telling her about Miller’s actions at the comedy club that night and expressed her discomfort with Miller.

“Dixie, you seem unhappy here at the Comedy Club. How can I help you?” 

Prior to the show, Elkins had previously told Cleghorne, the advisor, that she was unhappy with Miller’s behavior. Elkins and another club member Nicole Desmond had attended a Women Writers Room meeting — a women’s only writing workshop — where they said the group discussed how Miller would frequently cut off women who were speaking, steal their jokes, and speak down to them during general TNS Comedy Club meetings. The Free Press interviewed six other club members who felt similarly about these accusations against Miller.

Cleghorne was also in this meeting.

Elkins, Desmond, as well as two other workshop members told the Free Press that Cleghorne defended Miller during the Women Writers Room meeting, referring to him as a “sweetheart” and  “teddy bear” and referring to the allegations of his sexist behavior as a “witch hunt.”

They said Cleghorne then proposed a Zoom call for Feb. 27, 2023, coincidentally the day after  Cooper’s show.

According to Miller, Cleghorne called him after the meeting. He said, “She did impress upon me that there was complaining and that she felt like Dixie wanted to be president.” Miller said he wasn’t aware of the accusations and complaints against him until Cleghorne brought it up with him. 

On the day of the scheduled call, Elkins, Desmond, and Miller said they sat in silence for about 10 minutes waiting for Cleghorne to join the meeting. Instead of Cleghorne joining the Zoom, they said she called Miller on his personal phone. She talked to the group on speakerphone for about five minutes and said the club needed Miller as their leader. Cleghorne did not respond to the Free Press’ requests for comment on this matter.

Elkins and Desmond said that after refusing to hear their arguments, Cleghorne ended the phone call so they could discuss their issues with Miller, after which the two said they attempted to communicate their concerns with him. Desmond said, “We were trying to have an open discussion with him, and he just wanted no part of it.” Elkins also said that Miller did not apologize for the accusations that were brought forth during the meeting and that he “was very combative.”

Miller told the Free Press that during the conversation, he was “trying to understand. It was a lot to take in, and then [Elkins] found my responses to be defensive.”

Later that day, in a WhatsApp thread reviewed by the Free Press in its entirety, Elkins received a text from Cleghorne which read, “Dixie, you seem unhappy here at the Comedy Club. How can I help you?”

Elkins wrote back to Cleghorne saying she felt uncomfortable with Miller’s behavior during club meetings and disclosed his actions from the previous night at the bar. 

Cleghorne responded by saying that she wanted to hear the entirety of what had happened the night before and that the situation “ha[d] escalated” and was “moving towards the destruction of [the Comedy Club].”

After Elkins wrote back describing what happened, Cleghorne told Elkins, “You were either assaulted or you were not,” according to the messages. Elkins responded that although she still felt boundaries were crossed, she wanted to make it clear that Miller did not assault her. 

Cleghorne replied that Miller was “being generous” by offering to buy the two women drinks. She said she would shut the club down immediately and claimed that this was Elkins’ plan all along. “Mission accomplished!” — the texts show. 

Elkins said this wasn’t the goal and asked Cleghorne not to report the incident between her and Miller. Cleghorne responded that in order to move on, Elkins would have to “openly say to the administration that it was nothing.” She added that she did not know the allegations against Miller were this serious, and she was apologetic for what Elkins had experienced. 

As a faculty member, Cleghorne is a mandatory reporter, meaning she is obligated to inform the university of cases of sexual harassment or assault that students share with her. Cleghorne wrote back and said the situation was severe and the behavior was against the club’s code of ethics. “If someone tells me something, I am duty-bound to report it … I don’t want to get involved. And you know I don’t have a choice.” The Free Press could not confirm whether or not Cleghorne had reached out to the Title IX office to report this matter. 

Elkins shared these messages with the Women Writers Room, and the group decided to stop attending TNS Comedy Club meetings and split off from the group. 

Elkins said she felt Cleghorne made no space for Women Writers Room members. “We found out later that the whole time she told [Miller] everything from the first meeting. She never once cared about our thoughts or feelings. She fully wanted to support him,” Elkins said. Six other club members who spoke with the Free Press stated they felt similar to Elkins. 

The Free Press reviewed messages between Miller and Elkins, where Miller stated that Cleghorne had been keeping him “in the loop from the very beginning.” Miller confirmed this in an interview with the Free Press

“Run the race see it to the end. And Fuck Them hoes.”

A week after the Zoom call, Elkins and Desmond met with Cooper to discuss their issues. Cooper said he shared the alleged forced kiss and Perry’s experience at Jake’s Saloon.

On March 29, 2023, Elkins met with Assistant Director of Student Leadership and Involvement (SLI), Gilles Lee Stromberg, to discuss the club’s issues. 

Elkins said that during their meeting with SLI, Stromberg told her they would reach out to Miller to provide mental health support in the hopes of de-escalating the situation. 

This email was sent to Miller on March 30, the same day that Cleghorne removed herself as the club’s faculty advisor. The Free Press was unable to confirm whether her resignation was due to the allegations against Miller as Cleghorne declined to provide comment.

In a text chain between the two reviewed by the Free Press, Miller privately messaged Elkins on March 31 blaming her for Cleghorne’s resignation.

He also sent the club group chat a screenshot of the email from the university which Cleghorne responded to despite no longer being the club’s advisor, saying, “My love, I am so sorry you are experiencing the worst life has to offer. I AM HERE FOR YOU! Run the race see it to the end. And Fuck Them hoes,” and encouraging Miller to get his “soldiers in place.” The Free Press also reviewed these messages.

On April 1, 2023, Perry posted a story on her Instagram, asking her followers to suggest jokes about men. In a screenshot shown to the Free Press, Miller privately messaged Perry in response to the story post and joked that he was “a special kind of man that will laugh at your jokes AND sexually harass you.”

Perry said she contacted Cleghorne to intervene because she feared Miller would continue to behave inappropriately. 

Cleghorne then sent a screenshot of Perry’s message to Miller and encouraged him to file a police report.

“A woman is harassing you. She is posting on Instagram that [you] assaulted her. She is jeopardizing your career,” Cleghorne said in a message. Once Miller informed Cleghorne that he had filed a report, she encouraged him to use the ordeal as a stand-up routine for future comedy shows. “You have to talk about this on stage,” she texted him. The Free Press reviewed these messages. 

Miller then privately messaged Perry, accusing her of lying and saying he “never touched [Perry]” and that he “talked to [her] for 2 seconds ACROSS THE TABLE and then went to the bar,” denying the accusations from the night of Cooper’s show. The Free Press reviewed these messages. 

That day, Perry said she filed a no-contact order against Miller through The New School. 

Three days later on April 6, Elkins said she officially reached out to the Title IX office to proceed with an investigation. Perry, Cooper, Desmond, Merriman, and Sophie Stevenson agreed to speak to the Title IX office in support of Elkins’ claims. 

Elkins met with Title IX coordinators on April 17, and the investigation concluded two weeks later. The office emailed to inform Elkins that they would not move forward with the remainder of the Title IX process after completing the office’s standard 72-hour review period. 

“The Title IX investigation was nothing. They didn’t do anything,” Elkins said. 

In an email reviewed by the Free Press, Cassita Charles-Bowie, Elkins’ Title IX Investigator, recommended a change in housing as a source of support for Elkins, but despite her concerns about living in the same dorms as Miller, she did not want to leave Loeb Hall. “I am happy where I am. It’s just [Miller] that’s fucking gross,” Elkins told the Free Press in interviews conducted while she was still attending the university. Elkins has since graduated.

Members of TNS Comedy Club said Miller worked in Loeb Hall’s mailroom and kept his position even after the university’s knowledge of the Title IX complaint. “I didn’t even look at the mailroom every time I passed it … and you have to do it every time you go in and out. It’s so uncomfortable,” Elkins said. 

The Free Press reached out to the Title IX office for comment on the investigation as well as confirmation as to whether Miller continued to be employed in Loeb Hall after the Title IX complaint was filed. The office responded that they do not comment on confidential investigations but said that they “take [their] responsibility in these matters very seriously and have robust policies and procedures in place that [they] follow stringently.” 

Merriman and Stevenson, who were also Loeb Hall residents, said they felt anxiety about running into Miller again. “I literally wouldn’t get my mail sometimes. I had someone send me his mail schedule so that I could go when he wasn’t going to be there,” Merriman said. 

Perry said she was so anxious about her experience that she canceled spots on booked shows at other comedy clubs. 

“I’m getting cut out of paid work because I feel like he’s gonna assault me again … I deal with a lot of angry men that are pissed off that I don’t want to fuck them. This was the only one that I felt held weight because he had a criminal record,” Perry said. 

The group had earlier discovered that Miller had been arrested for second-degree battery which was later reduced to a misdemeanor in 2019. He pleaded nolo contendere for an offense of “disorderly conduct,” meaning he did not accept or deny responsibility for the crime, according to court records.

Miller stated that this particular incident was because the man he allegedly physically assaulted, Joshua Anthoney Bates, was harassing a female coworker at the bar where Miller was working, leading to an argument between the female coworker’s partner and Bates. Once Bates left the bar, Miller said he then followed Bates out to ensure he was not going to neighboring bars. Miller said that Bates saw him and then ran toward him, leading to Miller throwing Bates on the ground in an act of self-defense before being broken up by a group of security guards.

Cooper said he still feels anxious about potential interactions with Miller and worries about his physical safety on campus. “We’re both in the same year. He’s not graduating any earlier than I am,” Cooper said. “Being in the same major, I just fear there’s gonna be points where I’m going to need to take a class that I can’t take because I’m gonna see him on the [class roster] and have to switch … I feel like there’s just a chance that it’s going to affect my college education.”

Due to this concern, Cooper contacted the Title IX Office in Dec. 2023 to obtain a no-contact order but was told he couldn’t file for one as Miller hadn’t contacted him since the spring. 

The very situation that Cooper was concerned about occurred during the spring 2024 semester when he learned he was in a course with Miller. He was able to obtain a no-contact order in Jan. 2024 due to the class scheduling issue. 

Cooper, Perry, Elkins, Desmond, and Merriman told the Free Press that the primary recourse they wanted was for Miller to be held accountable by the university. 

In Sept. 2023, Merriman received a conclusion to the Title IX complaint she had filed against Cleghorne. The Free Press reviewed the email from Title IX, which stated that the investigation had found that a “preponderance of evidence supports the allegations of retaliation,” affirming Cleghorne’s violation of the University Policy on Harassment, Discrimination, Prohibited Relationships, Title IX and Non-Title IX Sexual Harassment and Misconduct. 

The office forwarded its investigative report and recommendations for action to Mary Watson, the former executive dean of the Schools of Public Engagement. 

The Free Press reached out to Cleghorne and the executive dean’s office for comment but did not receive a response from either.

After the 2022-2023 school year ended, Miller said he decided to talk to a therapist. He told the Free Press that he has since been diagnosed with bipolar disorder but has been doing better since seeking help. He said he has spoken with Cleghorne over the phone but stated that they have only “kept loose contact.”

At the time of publication, the Free Press was not able to confirm whether Cleghorne has continued teaching at a different institution but was featured on the December cover of New York Magazine’s annual “Reasons to Love” issue, with other SNL cast members, and attended SNL 50 in February.

Six months after TNS Comedy Club Club collapsed, Cooper, Elkins, and Desmond, along with other previous members of the Comedy Club Club and Women Writers Room, joined Mother Figure Comedy Collective — a new club for practicing comedy artists that is unaffiliated with The New School. 

“It’s just a more unified group of people that come and work on stuff together … everyone is equal in the club even if it’s just your first day,” Cooper said.