Is this the REAL reason CNN fired Chris Cuomo? Network rocked by ANOTHER scandal
The firing of Chris Cuomo from CNN may no longer be a big mystery. A new article on February 15, 2022, appears to provide the real reason he was fired, and it wasn't for helping his brother. In fact, it appears Cuomo was booted from CNN the same reason Andrew Cuomo was forced to step down as Governor - sexual assault.
Even before he was fired, Cuomo was suspected of knowing about his brother's assault allegations but never revealing them on air. Then in December 2021, we revealed how the CNN anchor was embroiled in his own sexual assault scandal while working at ABC News. His former boss from the organization, Shelley Ross, accused Cuomo of grabbing her buttock. It turns out, Ross wasn't the only victim.
RELATED ARTICLES
Fired Chris Cuomo to sue CNN over massive paycheck as he mirrors Andrew's pension bid
Did Chris Cuomo threaten ex-boss Jeff Zucker? CNN slams 'patently false' accusations
On December 1, 2021, prominent sexual harassment lawyer Debra Katz sent a letter to CNN's general counsel David Vigilante. That letter would prove to be Cuomo's undoing, setting in motion a flurry of activity at CNN that only ended in February 2022, with the firing of both Jeff Zucker, and his girlfriend Allison Gollust.
Allegations against Cuomo
The New York Times first broke the story of Katz's letter and its contents. They reported that the letter was written on behalf of an unnamed client (dubbed Jane Doe), who was assaulted by Cuomo back in 2011. Jane was a temporary ABC employee hoping to land a full-time role when she was invited for lunch by Cuomo. She went to his office, seemingly to discuss career advice, but found no food. "Instead, Mr. Cuomo badgered her for sex, and after she declined, he assaulted her," Jane alleged. It wasn't the end of her story.
Years later, at the height of the #MeToo movement, Cuomo reached out to Jane, who by that time was working in public relations at another firm. He reportedly wanted to air a segment about the company, which ended up being broadcast on CNN. Katz said, "After years without any substantive communication from Mr. Cuomo whatsoever, Ms. Doe suspected he was concerned about her coming forward publicly with her allegations and wanted to use the proposed segment as an opportunity to ‘test the waters’ and discourage her from going on the record about his sexual misconduct."
Then on December 4, just a day after Katz and a CNN lawyer made plans to hand over all the evidence in the case, Zucker fired Cuomo. The anchor claimed the CNN boss was "fearful that the woman’s allegations might appear in the media," and allegedly never gave Cuomo the "opportunity to respond."
Cuomo's retaliation, and Zucker's downfall
Prior to the letter, Zucker and Cuomo reportedly worked on a deal that would see the anchor return to CNN. It was reported that he was only temporarily being fired, so as to avoid any more negative press over Andrew Cuomo's scandal. However, the letter from Katz changed the equation entirely, which left Cuomo furious. After being booted, a spokesperson for him said the allegations "are false."
Cuomo also hired Bryan Freedman, a litigator known for securing multimillion-dollar settlements for aggrieved television stars. Soon, Radar published their scoop detailing the relationship between Zucker and Allison Gollust. It was never clear who the source for Radar's scoop was, but many have speculated it was the work of Cuomo. An internal investigation into Cuomo eventually morphed into a wider investigation of Zucker, and his handling of the affair, which also led to Zucker acknowledging his affair with Gollust.
In early February, Zucker announced he was resigning over the affair with Gollust, but as we reported that is also debatable at best. Between Cuomo's scandal, CNN's falling ratings, and more, there were plenty of reasons for CNN to fire Zucker. But there's no denying, it probably wouldn't have happened had it not been for Cuomo's booting.