During November and December 2018, Tyson was accused of rape by a woman while a further three women alleged inappropriate sexual advances. Thchiya Amet El Maat accused Tyson of drugging and raping her while both were graduate students at UT Austin in 1984. Katelyn Allers, a professor at Bucknell University, alleged Tyson touched her inappropriately at a 2009 American Astronomical Society gathering. Ashley Watson, Tyson's assistant on Cosmos, alleged Tyson made inappropriate sexual advances to her in 2018 which led her to resign from the position days later. In what Tyson described as a Native American handshake, he held her hand and looked her in the eye for ten seconds. When she left, he told her he wanted to hug her but would rather not in case he wanted more. A fourth anonymous woman alleged Tyson made inappropriate comments to her during a 2010 holiday party at the American Museum of Natural History. Tyson denied El Maat's rape accusation, while corroborating the basic facts around the situation of Allers and Watson's assertions, but claimed his actions were misinterpreted and apologized for any misunderstanding or offense.