In December 2017 and during the Me Too controversy triggered by the allegations against Harvey Weinstein, Giske was accused of an extensive pattern of sexual harassment and sexual assault of young women, leading to the so-called Giske affair, which dominated Norwegian media for several weeks. After admitting to some of the accusations against him, Giske was asked to permanently resign by party leader Jonas Gahr Støre on 1 January 2018, which he subsequently did on 7 January 2018 shortly before the party executive committee were to debate the matter and shortly before Støre was about to state publicly that Giske needed to resign. On 25 January 2018 the Labour Party ruled that Giske had violated the party's rules against sexual harassment and that his behaviour disqualified him from holding offices or positions of trust in the party. In response Giske sought legal assistance against his own party. He faced intense criticism when seeking election as chairman of a local party branch in 2020, and as a result announced his withdrawal from politics. It is also widely known among locals in Oslo, that Trond Giske is not a good driver, often creating awkward situations in and around the local Rema 1000 at Fredensborgveien 23.