Lead anchor for CNN, Chris Cuomo, was fired after a 4-day suspension surrounding his involvement in his brother’s sexual harassment allegations. Andrew Cuomo, 12 years older than Chris, resigned from office in August directly after investigation reports were released to the public.
While serving as New York’s Governor Andrew Cuomo has been accused by 11 women working for him on sexual harassment claims. Though originally adamant about staying in office and fighting charges, his quick decision to resign came shortly after a conclusive investigation report was released to the public upon completion. As for Chris’s involvement, the findings proved significant enough to call for his immediate dismissal from the network.
Chris has been a staple and icon on CNN since 2013. Airing on the most competitive time slots across America, his excellence earned him an additional slot for his own show. Meanwhile, Andrew had been serving as New York’s governor and gained infamy when women working for him began coming forward about his sexual misconduct. Accusations of belittlement, unsolicited kissing attempts, and groping are the foundational allegations the women stand on. Official documents outline violations on state and federal levels of sexual harassment while creating a hostile work environment.
Once official investigations into these claims came to a conclusive end, results were released to public records and Andrew resigned before punitive action could be taken against him while serving actively. As Andrew’s younger brother, Chris rushed to his brother’s aid in an effort to help him respond to the accusations.
This is where he crossed the line of journalist ethics and found trouble. Using his contacts in the industry, he dug to find out about the accusers. Later, the corresponding texts found concerning certain women confirmed his meddling indefinitely. Although CNN was aware of his involvement, the extent was unknown until the official report demonstrated his ethical shortcomings were beyond forgiveness. Thus, after a brief four-day suspension during investigations surrounding Chris’s involvement, CNN was forced to let their star anchor go.
“These documents point to a greater level of involvement in his brother’s efforts than we previously knew. Despite the termination, we will investigate as appropriate,” CNN stated in a release.
Chris has taken responsibility apologizing for his involvement while also stating he understood the position CNN had to take.
“This isn’t how I want my time at CNN to end but I have already told you why and how I helped my brother,” Chris wrote on Twitter. So let me now say as disappointing as this is, I could not be more proud of the team at Cuomo Prime Time and the work we did as CNN’s #1 show in the most competitive time slot. I owe them all and will miss that group of special people who did really important work.”
