Shelley Ross slams Chris Cuomo’s ‘truth’ t-shirt after allegations

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Former Chris Cuomo boss, who publicly accused him on Friday of sexually harassing her 16 years ago, tore up CNN stars’ decision to wear a Hamptons truth t-shirt amid the scandal of sexual harassment of her brother Andrew Cuomo.

Shelley Ross, a former ABC executive producer, revealed in a New York Times op-ed that Cuomo grabbed her buttocks in front of her husband and co-workers at a 2005 labor party on the Upper West Side.

She said Cuomo later emailed her, saying he was ashamed of her warm greetings.

Ross suggested that Cuomo had escaped responsibility during the 2005 incident and again following his involvement in the scandals surrounding his brother, disgraced former Governor Andrew Cuomo, this year.

The veteran TV reporter specifically noted Cuomo’s decision to wear the t-shirt with the word truth engraved on it when he was pictured in the Hamptons over Labor Day weekend right after Governor Cuomo’s resignation. .

Shelley Ross, a former ABC executive producer, revealed Cuomo grabbed her buttocks in front of her husband and co-workers at a work party in 2005.WireImage

She also referred to Chris Cuomos’ admission on air in March that he would no longer cover or interview his brother amid the scandal, telling his CNN viewers: I always cared very much about these questions and deeply. I just wanted to tell you.

Ross criticized both cases in his op-ed, saying they crystallized Cuomo’s performance.

To me, her statement of deep concern about sexual harassment and her “Truth” T-shirt were provocations in this era of personal accountability, she said.

Ross used his own experience with Cuomo to question whether this man still cared “deeply” and “deeply” about issues of sexual harassment.

Speaking about the 2005 incident, Ross said: I was at the party with my husband, who sat behind me on an ottoman sipping his Diet Coke while I chatted with friends from work. When Mr. Cuomo walked into the Upper West Side bar, he walked over to me and greeted me with a strong bear hug while lowering a hand to firmly grasp and squeeze the cheek of my butt. .

“‘I can do this now that you’re no longer my boss,’ he told me with a sort of arrogant arrogance. “No you can’t,” I said pushing him back to chest level as I stepped back, revealing my husband, who had seen the whole episode up close. We quickly left.

Chris Cuomo wore a Hamptons truth t-shirt amid his brother Andrew Cuomo’s sexual harassment scandal. Matt Agudo / SplashNews.com

Cuomo then sent Ross an email, dated June 1, 2005, with the subject heading: Come to think of it, I’m ashamed.

He compared his actions to True Romance actor Christian Slater, who was arrested a month earlier for sexually harassing a woman on a New York street after grabbing her buttocks. The charges against Slater were subsequently dropped.

While my cordial greetings depend on being happy to see you, Christian Slater was arrested for a (somehow) similar act (although born out of alleged negative intent, unlike mine) and as a husband. , I can understand not liking to see my wife tapped as such, Cuomo wrote.

So pass on my apologies to your very good and noble husband and I also apologize to you for putting you in such a situation.

Next time I will remember the lesson no matter how happy I am to see you.

Ross, in his op-ed, asked if Cuomo was ashamed because of his actions or only because her husband had witnessed them. She also claimed that Cuomo tried to legally differentiate his behavior from that of Slater.

Mr. Cuomo can say it’s a sincere apology. I’ve always seen this as an attempt to provide legal and moral cover to escape liability, Ross said.

I never thought Mr. Cuomo’s behavior was sexual in nature. Whether he understood it at the time or not, her form of sexual harassment was a hostile act meant to demean and demean her former boss in front of the staff.

Cuomo said in a statement regarding the allegations: 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 then, and I meant it.

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