Kristin Knouse’s reputation has come under intense scrutiny after her account of a consensual relationship with a prominent professor fueled a major #MeToo controversy.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology assistant professor remains defiant over her treatment of cancer researcher David Sabatini, whose career unraveled after she accused him of sexual misconduct following the end of their relationship.
Approached Monday at MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research in Cambridge, Knouse, 38, declined to discuss the case before criticizing Sabatini.
“I am the target of a massive smear campaign and getting death threats,” she said after removing her earphones.
“I don’t want to talk to anybody.”
Asked who she believed was behind the alleged campaign, Knouse replied: “He sent a mob after me, and a lot of your publications are too. I’ve been getting death threats because of the press that’s been circulating. I’m not comfortable speaking to anybody.”
Kristin Knouse is pictured in Boston on Monday. A Massachusetts court ordered her to pay David Sabatini $10 million after finding her liable for defamation, but she continues to reject criticism of her conduct
When approached by Our News Outlet at MIT on Monday, Knouse launched another attack on Professor David Sabatini
Knouse’s comments came after a Massachusetts court found her liable for defaming Sabatini and ordered her to pay $10 million. Interest has continued to increase the amount owed.
Speaking with Our News Outlet on Tuesday afternoon, Sabatini rejected Knouse’s accusation that he had mobilized supporters against her.
“I certainly have not sent any mob against her,” he said, adding that he was “sad to hear” she had received death threats and that no such behavior could be justified.
Sabatini said he had attempted to resolve the dispute earlier in the legal process. “She knows that I tried to fix this and she didn’t want that, so I don’t think it’s justified that she keeps attacking me,” he said.
He spoke after Our News Outlet photographed Knouse leaving her downtown Boston apartment Monday morning on her way to work.
Knouse, who intends to appeal the defamation ruling, appeared tense as she crossed Boston Common on her commute.
A photograph of Kristin Knouse and Professor David Sabatini during their relationship contrasts with the recent trial, in which a jury found that she defamed him by portraying their romance as coercive and inappropriate
Knouse is seen heading to work Monday morning. She is an assistant professor of biology at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, the institution Sabatini left after the allegations emerged
Knouse checks her phone after collecting a package on her way to work. The jury’s finding has made her the focus of mounting online criticism
Knouse has faced a wave of online backlash in recent days following the release of courtroom documents obtained by Our News Outlet.
The records detail how she began a relationship with Sabatini after he took on a mentoring role in her career.
According to text messages included in the court filings, Knouse wrote during the relationship, which began in April 2018 and ended in January 2020, that she “really liked sex to be hard.”
Questioned about the message by Sabatini’s attorney, Lisa Arrowood, during a recorded deposition, Knouse said she believed she had been expressing openness to “more, rougher, sex.”
She was also questioned about a message to a friend in which she said she wanted to “feel like I’ve been gang raped” after an intense leg workout.
In the deposition, Knouse also acknowledged that she had once pursued Sabatini “aggressively” for sex during a hotel stay and had jokingly used the term #HeToo to describe her own behavior.
Knouse appears in an MIT headshot. She began a relationship with her mentor, Professor David Sabatini, in 2018 and later accused him of coercive and inappropriate conduct after he ended the relationship
Knouse appears in an MIT publicity video. She remains at the institute as calls grow for Sabatini to be reinstated
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In January 2020, Sabatini told Knouse he planned to pursue a relationship with a former partner living in Germany.
Court records say Knouse then reported him to the Whitehead Institute for sexual harassment, alleging that she had felt unable to reject advances from her powerful supervisor. Sabatini has denied that characterization.
The allegations brought an abrupt end to Sabatini’s 25-year scientific career. Messages released in court also showed Knouse discussing her satisfaction at the damage to his reputation.
In one message, she expressed a desire to see her former partner “Weinstein-ed out of science.”
The phrase referred to disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein, whose downfall helped propel the #MeToo movement after numerous women accused him of sexual harassment and abuse.
Sabatini was subsequently forced out of the Whitehead Institute.
He left MIT in March 2021 after university leaders recommended revoking his tenure, a move that could have enabled his dismissal.
A protest by students and faculty at New York University also contributed to the withdrawal of a job offer he had received there.
Sabatini has said the strain drove him to attempt suicide by hanging during the darkest period of the dispute.
Although he prevailed in his defamation case against Knouse, he says the experience continues to define his life.
“This has completely destroyed me and completely changed my life,” he said last week.
“Nothing that remained from before is still operating. Everything is gone.”
Sabatini now works as a research group leader at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry in Prague.
The institute has also opened a laboratory in Cambridge, near MIT, where Sabatini now carries out research.
Last week, scientists from 33 institutions signed an open letter urging MIT to reinstate Sabatini following the civil ruling against Knouse.
The signatories argued that evidence presented during the case had seriously weakened the credibility of Knouse’s allegations.
Whitehead Institute director Ruth Lehmann walks her dog near her $5.2 million Boston home Tuesday. She offered “no comment” when asked about calls for Sabatini’s reinstatement
MIT leaders, however, have shown no sign of changing course.
The university has referred Our News Outlet and other publications to a 2022 statement saying Sabatini’s tenure was revoked because he violated MIT’s policy on consensual relationships.
MIT has not indicated whether Knouse will face disciplinary action in connection with the allegations and court findings that have drawn renewed scrutiny to the institution.
It remains unclear how MIT could restore Sabatini to a senior role while retaining Knouse, given their overlapping areas of scientific work.
The matter ultimately rests with Ruth Lehmann, who has led the Whitehead Institute since 2020 and oversaw its investigation into Knouse’s allegations.
Approached outside her $5.2 million Boston townhouse Tuesday, Lehmann gave a brief “no comment” when asked whether Sabatini would be offered his former position.
As pressure mounts for MIT and the Whitehead Institute to address the consequences of the case, Lehmann may face growing demands for a fuller explanation.
