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MIT ex professor wins $6m jury verdict for false accusations against him by wome
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Date: October 17th, 2026 9:23 AM Author: ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/16/us/mit-scientist-sexual-harassment-defamation-lawsuit-david-sabatini.html
M.I.T. Scientist Wins $6 Million in Sexual Harassment Defamation Suit David Sabatini, once a prominent scientist at M.I.T., sued a former colleague who accused him of inappropriate behavior. A jury found in his favor.
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A man with shoulder-length dark hair and short facial hair looks into the distance in front of a wood-paneled wall. He wears a suit and tie. David Sabatini, a former M.I.T. scientist, in court at the end of a trial in a defamation lawsuit he brought against a former colleague. Credit...David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe, via Getty Images Mark Arsenault By Mark Arsenault Oct. 16, 2026 A prominent Massachusetts Institute of Technology biology professor forced out of his job over sexual harassment allegations won a defamation case against his accuser on Friday, along with a $6 million award.
The biologist, David Sabatini, was among the most prominent scientists in his field, and ran a research lab at the Whitehead Institute, in Cambridge, for 24 years. His lab studied cellular biology to better understand neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, diabetes, and aging.
He was forced out of his lab in 2021 after an internal Whitehead investigation concluded he had a past sexual relationship with a younger and less experienced colleague, Kristin Knouse, over whom he had a career-influencing role. The investigation also found that his lab had maintained a sexualized atmosphere. Dr. Knouse said that the relationship was coerced.
But Dr. Sabatini denied his lab had an improper atmosphere. He maintained that his relationship with Dr. Knouse had been consensual and that Dr. Knouse had schemed to get him fired and disgraced after he became interested in another woman.
“It’s surreal,” Dr. Sabatini, 58, said in a phone interview after the verdict. “I’ve been dreaming about this moment for all this time, but often thinking I might not make it, financially, emotionally or physically.”
Nearly five years to the day after he filed his defamation lawsuit, a Suffolk County jury agreed with him, finding that Dr. Sabatini had proved in court that Dr. Knouse had defamed him and interfered with his ability to work.
The jury rejected Dr. Knouse’s counterclaims that Dr. Sabatini had harassed and retaliated against her.
Dr. Knouse’s lawyer, Ellen Zucker, said in an interview Friday evening that Dr. Knouse would appeal the decision.
“The sad reality of our time is that society still has a difficult time believing women and appreciating the difficulty they encounter with men who too often control their fate,” Ms. Zucker said. She said Dr. Knouse “came into court and told the truth.”
Dr. Knouse is an assistant professor of biology at M.I.T. and on the faculty of the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, which is affiliated with M.I.T.
Dr. Sabatini’s career was derailed by the allegations. After he was pushed out of M.I.T. and the Whitehead, he had talks with New York University about a job. But N.Y.U. staff members and students protested in the streets against his hiring in 2022, and the university did not hire him.
In 2023, he was hired by the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, in Prague, and later opened a Boston-area branch of that institute. He has been splitting time between Massachusetts and the Czech Republic.
Dr. Sabatini said he hopes the verdict is a step toward regaining his reputation. “Before, I was judged as having a great lab and for providing great mentoring,” he said. “For the most part my trainees have been there for me through this.”
“I hope that I can get back to being judged by my science and my training,” he said.
The Whitehead Institute, in a statement after the verdict, said that earlier legal claims against the institution had already been dismissed, adding, “Therefore, Whitehead was not a party to this case, and the decision and judgment only apply to Drs. Sabatini and Knouse, the parties in the case.”
A spokeswoman for M.I.T. did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Date: October 17th, 2026 9:23 AM Author: ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Bill Ackman @BillAckman · 10h Five years ago, an important miscarriage of justice occurred.
The story began in April 2018 when David Sabatini, an MIT, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), and Whitehead Institute scientist and professor began a consensual intimate relationship with Dr. Kristin Knouse, a principal investigator with her own lab at the Whitehead.
By January 2020, David sought to end the relationship, but Knouse apparently did not want it to end. When David thereafter started a new relationship and Knouse learned about it, she began a secretive campaign to destroy him by attempting to end his career as a scientist. She did so by damaging his name, reputation, and that of his family with false sexual harassment and other claims, thereby making him unemployable.
Knouse conspired with Dr. Ruth Lehmann, the then- and still current Director (i.e., President) of the Whitehead Institute, in her efforts to destroy Sabatini.
The record presented in court demonstrated that Dr. Lehmann committed to Knouse in October of 2020 that she would fire David. Dr. Lehmann made this commitment to Knouse before any investigation of the facts had taken place.
Seven months after committing to fire him, in March of 2021, Dr. Lehmann, on behalf of the Whitehead, hired the law firm of Hinckley, Allen, Snyder (HAS) to undergo an investigation of David. By July 2021, HAS shared a draft of its conclusions with MIT, HHMI, and the Whitehead, but not with David or his lawyers.
On the morning of August 19, 2021, David for the first time received the more than 200-page investigative report and a calendar invite for a meeting the following day with Dr. Lehmann, the president of HHMI, and the HR directors of both institutions. The report was riddled with errors and unsupported claims about David and his relationship with Knouse.
When David's lawyer immediately thereafter reached out to Whitehead counsel to ask whether David was about to be fired, they confirmed that he would be terminated at the meeting.
On the advice of his lawyer, David immediately resigned from HHMI and the Whitehead rather than attend the meeting. HHMI did not accept his resignation, choosing instead to fire him. MIT put David on leave and ultimately revoked his tenure. David thereafter resigned from MIT.
On August 20, 2021, one day after sending David the HAS report and before David had the opportunity to dispute the facts and the conclusions of the investigation, Dr. Lehmann emailed all employees at the Whitehead informing them that David had violated a number of Whitehead policies "including policies concerning sexual harassment."
The Lehmann public email, David's resignation and firing, and Dr. Lehmann's claims about David's sexual harassment exploded into a major global scandal covered in mainstream, social, and scientific media around the world as it had all of the requisite ingredients:
An attractive target with David, one of the most important scientists of his generation in line for the Nobel Prize, a purported inappropriate sexual relationship with a younger female colleague, and a political and institutional environment where punishing a man for sexual harassment advanced the career and reputation of the person and/or institution that destroyed the career and reputation of the accused, regardless of the validity of the allegations.
As a result of Knouse's claims, Lehmann's sham investigation, and the media onslaught that followed, David lost all sources of income and his reputation was destroyed. All prizes he had been previously been awarded were withdrawn. He was removed from all scientific advisory and other honorary roles other than as a member of our family foundation's (the Pershing Square Foundation's) scientific advisory board.
When I initially learned of the news about David in the summer of 2021, I hired him as a consultant to the Pershing Square Foundation as I believed our small foundation team would benefit greatly by his insights (and he now had the time to help us), and he needed the money to support his family.
At my request and under a confidentiality agreement, David provided us with many hundreds of pages of documents including texts and other communications with Knouse, the investigative report, and David's responses to the allegations so that we could do our own evaluation of Knouse's claims.
I and a member of our family office's legal team carefully reviewed the documents. After a careful review of the empirical documents -- in particular the texts between Knouse and David -- it became abundantly clear that Knouse's actions were that of an angry and jilted lover, not those of a sexually harassed junior colleague. And the investigative report appeared designed to deliver a pre-ordained conclusion rather than a dispassionate fact-based analysis.
The impact of the firings and the destruction of his career and reputation on David and his family was extraordinarily devastating, so much so that we became increasingly concerned that he might commit suicide.
[In order to make sure that David's important scientific research would continue, in February 2023, in partnership with an anonymous donor, we funded $25 million to support David launching a new lab. As you might expect, I was reviled in the press, in scientific journals, and on social media for doing so and for supporting a so-called sex offender.]
On October 20, 2021, David filed suit against Knouse alleging defamation and tortious interference in his career and his contractual arrangements. Thereafter, Knouse brought counterclaims against David.
Today, nearly five years to the date of the filing of the suit, he has finally received justice.
Today, a 13-person jury (seven men and six women) of David Sabatini's peers (12 jurors plus an alternate) unanimously determined that David proved that Kristin Knouse defamed him, tortiously interfered with his contractual relationships (his entire career as a scientist), and tortiously interfered with his prospective advantageous relationships (his future employment). The jury awarded him nearly $10 million in damages including interest.
The jury rejected all of Knouse's claims including her claims that David engaged in quid pro quo sexual harassment and created a sexually hostile work environment.
While five years is a very long time to live under a reputational cloud, justice was finally served today for David, but not completely in my view.
To this day, Dr. Ruth Lehmann remains Director of the Whitehead Institute. Dr. Lehmann worked alongside Dr. Knouse to destroy David Sabatini, an acclaimed scientist and professor. She did not follow due process before she intentionally destroyed David's career and reputation.
Dr. Lehmann nearly killed David with her actions, as had we not rescued David by finding him employment, supporting him publicly to buffer the reputational damage, and supporting his recovery, he could have ended his life and left his son without a father before the world understood what had transpired here.
And the reputational damage was not just to David.
David's brother, Bernardo Sabatini, is one of the most important neuroscientists in the world. To this day, he has had to deal with a large cloud over his family name and reputation. Recently, when the new CEO of our brain institute mentioned that Bernardo Sabatini was on our board, he was asked: "Wasn't he involved in some kind of sex scandal?"
For obvious reasons, the character of the person who runs a scientific institute is of utmost importance. Among other failures here, Dr. Ruth Lehmann committed to Knouse that she would fire David many months before an investigation was even launched and without consideration of the empirical facts.
How can one trust research produced by a scientific institute if its leader is not committed to observing the empirical facts before reaching conclusions that have life-threatening import? We have unfortunately seen massive amounts of scientific fraud which has harmed innumerable human lives and wasted billions of dollars of research funding and time.
For her ethical breaches here, Dr. Lehmann should be fired from the Whitehead. Based on her actions in this case, she is in no position to serve as the leader of an important scientific institute.
I speak with some perspective on how scientific and other institutions should be led. Including the recent launch of the Ackman Oxman Institute, we have funded approximately $1 billion of scientific research and institutions over the last decade or so, and this experience has given us the opportunity to meet the leadership of many of the most important scientific institutions in the world.
To put it plainly, we would not give a dollar to a scientific institute whose leader compromised basic moral principles as has happened here.
At an absolute minimum, the board of the Whitehead should immediately launch a detailed and independent investigation of Dr. Lehmann's actions in the Sabatini case. I would encourage the investigation, among other considerations, to carefully exam all of the correspondence between Lehmann and Knouse, as well their correspondence with the HAS law firm on among other areas, the various drafts of the Sabatini investigative report.
Alternatively, Dr. Lehmann could resign, minimize further distraction for the Whitehead, and save institutional time and resources that would be better spent on research that benefits humanity. |
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Date: October 17th, 2026 12:08 PM Author: Judas Jones Ackman's tweet is longer than any article on the story (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5913404&forum_id=2#50193674) |
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Date: October 17th, 2026 1:00 PM Author: ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, true. i read the NYT article and saw that it was spinning the story so i found the Ackman tweet and threw it up there because it was a more in-depth account. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5913404&forum_id=2#50193800) |
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Date: October 17th, 2026 1:11 PM Author: Debunked antisemitic trope When i want a more self serving and more biased account than that of a purple headed gender freak i turn to Ackman (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5913404&forum_id=2#50193835) |
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Date: October 17th, 2026 1:24 PM Author: ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, fair criticism, and when i poasted it i didn't yet know that Ackman has been a participant, on Sabatini's side, in the ongoing battle. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5913404&forum_id=2#50193846) |
Date: October 17th, 2026 10:15 AM Author: Nazca Redlines Employment law mastermen, explain this: "they confirmed that he would be terminated at the meeting. On the advice of his lawyer, David immediately resigned from HHMI and the Whitehead rather than attend the meeting. HHMI did not accept his resignation, choosing instead to fire him." Seems like both the (former) employee and the lab should have done the opposite, right? They should have let him resign to mitigate an improper termination claim (to an extent). And he should have let them fire him to bolster the claim.
Also: how did the lab get out of the suit? Their statement says the claims against them were dismissed. Do they mean "dismissed after we paid a hefty settlement"?
And how bad were the facts against his ex that a Massachusetts jury rung her up for $6M? |
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Date: October 17th, 2026 10:35 AM Author: metacuration it seems to me that the institute not accepting his resignation was a clear error. for his part, i’d guess he just wanted to quietly resign and go get another job rather than spend the next five years waging a tiresome uphill legal battle while he was automatically deemed guilty in the court of public opinion. i would guess “yes” on a prior confidential settlement from the employer. |
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Date: October 17th, 2026 10:54 AM Author: ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5913404&forum_id=2#50193534) |
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Date: October 17th, 2026 11:50 AM Author: Nazca Redlines If he wanted to keep it hush hush and move on, making them fire him, then negotiating severance and an nda and a neutral reference was probably they best he could do, short of a favorable outcome followung years of litigation. Resigning just doesn't make sense. This sort of stuff doesn't just go away for a high profile academic.
The statement from the institute is such weasel words. I wonder if his settlement with them has a clause about how they can publicly talk about the case. "We reached a mutually satisfactory resolution" sounds much different than "claims against us were dismissed." |
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Date: October 17th, 2026 1:53 PM Author: metacuration i obviously don’t know the terms of his employment, but absent some specific right he would have no leverage to negotiate severance/nda/etc. after being fired, and i would be surprised if any employment agreement granted him such leverage given the purported reason for his termination. i assume he hoped, not altogether unreasonably, that the organization would be inclined to sweep the whole thing under the rug with his unconditional surrender. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5913404&forum_id=2#50193903) |
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Date: October 17th, 2026 2:53 PM Author: .,.,,..,,.,.,.:.,,;:.,.,..,.,..,,:.........:..,.:: Yup. The crazy bitch who ran the place sent out an email telling everyone he was fired for policy violations including harassment, and it was picked up by the press. He waa trying to avoid that. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5913404&forum_id=2#50193983) |
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Date: October 17th, 2026 11:55 AM Author: censorship happens when you let women make decisions (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5913404&forum_id=2#50193641) |
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Date: October 17th, 2026 10:32 AM Author: .,.,,..,,.,.,.:.,,;:.,.,..,.,..,,:.........:..,.:: Would you let your career reputation get tarnished over this pussy, as a 52yr old man?
https://csbphd.mit.edu/faculty/kristin-knouse-md-phd/ |
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Date: October 17th, 2026 11:21 AM Author: Covid was a Hoax she looks like bo nix (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5913404&forum_id=2#50193578) |
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Date: October 17th, 2026 11:44 AM Author: Debunked antisemitic trope Lol she looks like train doe from Cornell (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5913404&forum_id=2#50193629) |
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Date: October 17th, 2026 12:44 PM Author: .,.,.,.,,,,.,,.,.,.,...,,..,, Yes. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5913404&forum_id=2#50193764) |
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Date: October 17th, 2026 1:18 PM Author: Israeli-American professor of Holocaust and genoci No (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5913404&forum_id=2#50193841) |
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Date: October 17th, 2026 2:25 PM Author: the walter white of this generation (walt jr.) This was way, way, way better than I was expecting. Have you seen Sabatini? *He* dumped this girl.
The evidence is overwhelming that this chick is dangerously insane, even before cracking open the facts of this case. |
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Date: October 17th, 2026 3:14 PM Author: richard clock (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5913404&forum_id=2#50194004) |
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Date: October 17th, 2026 10:39 AM Author: Israeli-American professor of Holocaust and genoci But ackman said $10m! (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5913404&forum_id=2#50193510) |
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Date: October 17th, 2026 10:55 AM Author: AZNgirl w/Penis discussing Interest Rates w/TT6 with interest nigga, it was like 4-5 years of interest at 10% dat a lot nigga (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5913404&forum_id=2#50193536) |
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Date: October 17th, 2026 11:58 AM Author: Metal Up Your Ass how jealous are you of those returns? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5913404&forum_id=2#50193644) |
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Date: October 17th, 2026 10:55 AM Author: AZNgirl w/Penis discussing Interest Rates w/TT6 Breaking: It turns out WOmen are all furking retarded whores and cannot work with men at all cause they will just claim RAPE and HARASSMENT no matter what eventually. This entire furking birdshit world is retarded (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5913404&forum_id=2#50193537) |
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Date: October 17th, 2026 10:57 AM Author: AZNgirl w/Penis discussing Interest Rates w/TT6 looks like she has a TALL Indian BF now
https://knouselab.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_4502-1920x1440.jpg
https://knouselab.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_6580-1280x960.jpg |
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Date: October 17th, 2026 11:04 AM Author: Israeli-American professor of Holocaust and genoci wtf is going in these pics, why aren't they in the lab curing cancer (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5913404&forum_id=2#50193555) |
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Date: October 17th, 2026 11:06 AM Author: AZNgirl w/Penis discussing Interest Rates w/TT6 its from the JOIN US page, they want ppl to think its a FUN fratty group that has a WIDE range of outside interests. FUN FUN FUN
https://knouselab.org/join/ |
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Date: October 17th, 2026 3:20 PM Author: Israeli-American professor of Holocaust and genoci Nonresponsive (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5913404&forum_id=2#50194012) |
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Date: October 17th, 2026 11:05 AM Author: .,.,,..,,.,.,.:.,,;:.,.,..,.,..,,:.........:..,.:: He looks like a twink with a 2 inch turdbark and she looks like a shriveled up old hag with a fishy pussy odor (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5913404&forum_id=2#50193557) |
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Date: October 17th, 2026 11:05 AM Author: AZNgirl w/Penis discussing Interest Rates w/TT6 cry moar birdshit, indian MEN are the new brad pitts (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5913404&forum_id=2#50193559) |
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Date: October 17th, 2026 11:07 AM Author: .,.,,..,,.,.,.:.,,;:.,.,..,.,..,,:.........:..,.:: Like in that pic with shorts on he basically has a cameltoe, thats how small his dick is. A negative bulge (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5913404&forum_id=2#50193562) |
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Date: October 17th, 2026 11:07 AM Author: .,.,,..,,.,.,.:.,,;:.,.,..,.,..,,:.........:..,.:: And yes I spend a lot of time focusing on mens packages so I know what im talking about (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5913404&forum_id=2#50193563) |
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Date: October 17th, 2026 11:13 AM Author: AZNgirl w/Penis discussing Interest Rates w/TT6 welcome, u r in the right place (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5913404&forum_id=2#50193576) |
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Date: October 17th, 2026 11:59 AM Author: censorship they all look retarded (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5913404&forum_id=2#50193646) |
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Date: October 17th, 2026 12:37 PM Author: He never dreamed a sail The curated diversity including a white male soyboy reminds me of the cast of a 90s teen show like Ghostwriter. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5913404&forum_id=2#50193743) |
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Date: October 17th, 2026 1:33 PM Author: spaceporn1488 (✅🍑) that cameltoe is horrendous (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5913404&forum_id=2#50193854) |
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Date: October 17th, 2026 10:59 AM Author: Kenneth Play (emotional girth) the texts on this case are hilarious and deeply sad.
it goes from horny nerd biology texts ("between the 2 of us, we have serum T of 6 16 yo boys") to the aftermath of sex where she sent him a bunch of long ones like "i don't know if you feel the same way about me that i feel about you" and he was like "don't be crazy. i need space to date this other woman"
She then tells Sabatini that her adviser Angelika Amon recently told her that Amon was "worried you’re just as insecure and intimidated by me as all the other guys I’ve dated.”
https://mtorleaks.substack.com/p/nov-13-2022-every-knouse-sabatini |
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Date: October 17th, 2026 12:00 PM Author: censorship women really tarnish every environment they enter w this shit (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5913404&forum_id=2#50193647) |
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Date: October 17th, 2026 12:02 PM Author: AZNgirl w/Penis discussing Interest Rates w/TT6 I still think abt how the EU threatened funding to nepal if they didnt ban putting bitches in menstraul huts (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5913404&forum_id=2#50193650) |
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Date: October 17th, 2026 1:34 PM Author: spaceporn1488 (✅🍑) (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5913404&forum_id=2#50193855) |
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Date: October 17th, 2026 12:21 PM Author: ,.,,,. (Fuck slavic whores) What's the age difference between them? Also what about that sex drive? So did he dump her and only after that she became mad? And before that she just fucked him like a good girl? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5913404&forum_id=2#50193707) |
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Date: October 17th, 2026 1:08 PM Author: ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, you can go to the journal, Science, and see their biased coverage. the main reporter is Phie Jacobs.
"Phie Jacobs is a general assignment reporter at Science. They hold a bachelor's degree in English and biology from Wesleyan University and a master's in science writing from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology."
they do.
also, Ackman gave Sabatini a bunch of money to start up a new research lab and the judge threw out the claims against the institutions, leaving only the claims against the women who went after him.
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Date: October 17th, 2026 1:12 PM Author: .,.,,..,,.,.,.:.,,;:.,.,..,.,..,,:.........:..,.:: Lol at this disgusting jewish tranny. Newrly threw up looking at its photo. What a freak (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5913404&forum_id=2#50193836) |
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Date: October 17th, 2026 1:20 PM Author: ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, at *their photo, you surely meant to say? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5913404&forum_id=2#50193842) |
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Date: October 17th, 2026 1:34 PM Author: spaceporn1488 (✅🍑) (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5913404&forum_id=2#50193857) |