Chris Cuomo’s allegation of sexual harassment by former ABC News executive

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CNN’s Chris Cuomo is accused of sexual harassment in a new guest essay published by The New York Times.

Shelley Ross, a veteran television reporter and former executive producer who was Cuomo’s EP on ABC Primetime Live, alleges Cuomo sexually harassed her at a party for an ABC co-worker in June 2005.

“He walked over to me and greeted me with a strong bear hug while lowering a hand to firmly grip and squeeze the cheek of my butt,” writes Ross. He allegedly told her: “I can do it now that you are no longer my boss”, in which case she pushed him away and replied: “No, you cannot”, before leaving the party with her husband. , who attended the meeting.

In addition to the allegations, the essay includes a scan of the printed email Cuomo sent Ross an hour after the harassment, with the subject line: “Come to think of it … I’m ashamed … “. In the email, Cuomo refers to the way he fumbled Ross as a “warm greeting” and “a function of being happy to see you.” He goes on to say that “as a husband I can understand not liking to see my wife fondled as such… so pass on my apologies to your very good and noble husband… and I also apologize to you, even for putting you in such a position.

The essay also includes a recent statement from Cuomo, which reads: “As Shelley acknowledges, our interaction was not of a sexual nature. This happened 16 years ago in a public setting while she was a senior executive at ABC. I apologized to her at that point, and I really meant it.

TVLine has reached out to representatives for Cuomo and CNN for comment.

In the essay, Ross writes that she never viewed Cuomo’s behavior as “sexual in nature.” But nonetheless, “her form of sexual harassment was a hostile act intended to diminish and demean her former boss in front of the staff.

“I have no hard feelings against Mr. Cuomo,” she argues. “I’m not looking for him to lose his job. Rather, it is an opportunity for him and his employer to show what accountability can look like in the #MeToo era. “

The allegation against Cuomo comes a month after his brother Andrew Cuomo, who had been governor of New York since 2011, announced his resignation after several women came forward to accuse him of behavior, including sexual harassment, sexism and creation of a toxic work. environment.

While the first allegations against the governor surfaced earlier this year, Chris Cuomo told Cuomo Prime Time that while other CNN reporters would report the charges, he would not, citing a conflict of interest. But in May, the Washington Post reported that Chris had participated in strategic appeals with Governor Cuomo and senior members of his staff regarding how the governor should respond to the allegations against him, with multiple sources claiming Chris had advised his brother not to resign from office. . Although CNN chose not to discipline Chris at the time, the network admitted in a statement that “it was inappropriate to initiate conversations with members of the governor’s staff,” and Chris said in an apology to the antenna that “it won’t happen again.”

When his brother resigned in August, Cuomo told viewers he had urged the governor to step down, but remained wary of any conflicts of interest.

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