LONDON - The American businesswoman at the heart of a controversy over links to U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he has cast her aside like a “gremlin.”

Jennifer Arcuri has told broadcaster ITV in an interview to be broadcast Sunday that Johnson ignored her when she tried to contact him about how to handle the media fallout from allegations that she received special treatment because of their relationship when Johnson was mayor of London. The technology entrepreneur refused to say whether the friendship was intimate.

Arcuri addresses Johnson directly, saying: “I’ve kept your secrets, and I’ve been your friend .... And I’m terribly heartbroken by the way that you have cast me aside like I am some gremlin.“

Johnson has said his dealings with Arcuri were “done with complete propriety.”