In her first public remarks since she was forced to resign two weeks ago, the former director of the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum called the investigation into the circumstances of her wedding, which led to her ouster, a “sham” colored by sexism.

“This is not how we treat human beings,” the former director, Caroline Baumann, said in comments released Thursday through her lawyer, Luke Nikas.

Ms. Baumann, 53, stepped down as director on Feb. 7 after the Smithsonian’s inspector general found she had violated conflict-of-interest rules in connection with her September 2018 wedding. The reason for her forced resignation has previously been reported, but new details about the investigation emerged on Thursday in an inspector general’s report obtained by The New York Times.

The report said that Ms. Baumann had used, or created an appearance that she had used, her “Smithsonian position for private gain” by obtaining free use of a Hamptons property for the ceremony, and giving the nonprofit affiliated with the property free use of Cooper Hewitt spaces for meetings; by obtaining a discounted wedding dress from a Brooklyn designer and then giving the designer a free ticket to a Cooper Hewitt gala; and by using Cooper Hewitt staff members to help publicize her wedding.