CNN: Chris Cuomo fired after sexual misconduct allegation

[ad_1]

CNN’s Chris Cuomo at a Democratic town hall in Los Angeles, California on October 10, 2019 (Mike Blake / Reuters)

CNN learned of an allegation of sexual misconduct against Chris Cuomo last week, days before firing the anchor on Saturday, according to a new report.

The network fired Cuomo for relying on contacts in the media industry to help his brother, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, overcome his sexual harassment scandal.

Prominent employment lawyer Debra Katz alerted the network to an allegation of sexual misconduct made by her client, who was a “junior colleague” of Chris Cuomo on another news network, according to the New York Times.

The allegation is unrelated to the sexual assault allegations that led to Andrew Cuomo’s resignation earlier this year and it is unclear what role they played in the dismissal of Chris Cuomo, the report notes.

“Based on the report we received regarding Chris’s conduct in defense of his brother, we had reason to shut down,” CNN told The New York Times. “When new allegations reached us this week, we took them seriously and saw no reason to delay taking immediate action.”

Katz, who also represented Andrew Cuomo’s accuser Charlotte Bennett, said her client “came forward because she was disgusted by Chris Cuomo’s on-air statements in response to allegations against her brother, Governor Andrew Cuomo “.

The lawyer pointed to a March 1 show where Chris Cuomo said, “I have always cared about these issues, and deeply. I just wanted to tell you.

Chris Cuomo has yet to respond to the new allegation.

Earlier on Saturday, he released a statement regarding his dismissal from CNN.

“This is not how I want my time on CNN to end, but I have already told you why and how I helped my brother,” said Chris Cuomo. “So let me say now, as disappointing as it may be, I couldn’t be more proud of the crew at ‘Cuomo Prime Time’ and the job we did as CNN’s # 1 show. in the most competitive time slot. “

Documents recently released by New York Attorney General Letitia James’s office on Monday contradicted young Cuomo’s claims that he was “not an adviser” to his brother amid his sexual harassment scandal and that he “didn’t control anything”, and that he was only involved in meetings to listen and offer his point of view.

However, the documents reveal that the former CNN presenter was in regular contact with Melissa DeRosa, the governor’s former senior assistant, as allegations of sexual harassment began to mount one after another, according to the ‘investigation.

DeRosa regularly asked Cuomo if he knew when the damaging articles were due to be published. He often replied that he would contact his media relations to gather more information.

The new sexual misconduct allegation wouldn’t be the first against young Cuomo: In September, Shelley Ross said he put down “a hand to firmly grip and squeeze the cheek of my butt” at a party in 2005 Ross worked with Cuomo on ABC News.

Cuomo told the New York Times that the incident with Ross was not sexual and that he later apologized.

Tip the NR press team.

[ad_2]