On Monday, Chris Cuomo, popular anchor, and host of the “Cuomo Prime Time” show on CNN, addressed the allegations of sexual abuse against his brother Andrew Cuomo who resigned from the post of Governor of New York on August 10 and will be stepping down in a week’s time.
Returning from a weeklong regularly scheduled vacation after the report of the Governor’s sexual harassment and his subsequent resignation were released, Chris Cuomo said that he had advised his brother to resign. He said that he told his brother that his intentions did not matter. What mattered was how his “actions and words were perceived.”
Cuomo also said that he had never misled anyone about the information that he delivered or did not deliver on his program. He also said that he had never influenced or attempted to influence CNN’s coverage of his family.
Cuomo also said that he had never attacked or encouraged anyone to attack any of the women who had come forward and laid allegations against Andrew Cuomo.
However, he had been called out earlier by a report in the Washington Post which showed that he had participated in calls with Andrew Cuomo’s staff to build strategies to combat the harassment charges.
Chris Cuomo said that he had stopped communicating with the staff after his CNN bosses told him to do so.
He noted that it was a mistake and he said that he had apologized to colleagues, and he had stopped and that he meant it. He also said that being a brother to a politician in scandal as well as being a part of media was a unique situation and he tried to do the right thing.
Governor Andrew Cuomo’s scandals created a tight rope walk for CNN. President Jeff Zucker supported his top-rated host Chris Cuomo, despite upsetting colleagues and others.
Earlier in the year, Chris Cuomo had interviewed his brother when Governor Cuomo was earning plaudits for his adept handling of the coronavirus crisis in New York, and this garnered criticism against CNN. However, Chris Cuomo mentioned that the joint appearances of the Cuomo brothers stopped before the scandal of the state underreporting nursing home deaths broke in February.
Chris Cuomo’s statement, after 54 minutes of his show, was the longest he has ever spoken about the issue. He also said that he would not discuss issues regarding Andrew Cuomo again.
