CNN fires Chris Cuomo 'effective immediately' amid a fresh sexual harassment claim

CNN announced on Saturday that prime time anchor Chris Cuomo has been terminated by the network after being suspended earlier in the week.

The decision was made after an outside law firm reviewed the trove of documents released by New York State Attorney General Letitia James. Its contents showed that Chris Cuomo used his journalistic skills and resources to help defend his brother, then-NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo, from sexual harassment allegations, leading to his suspension last Tuesday.

Cuomo responded to his firing on Twitter, calling it “disappointing.”

“This is not how I want my time at CNN to end but I have already told you why and how I helped my brother,” he said. “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.”

pic.twitter.com/YArsJnUjqf

— Christopher C. Cuomo (@ChrisCuomo) December 4, 2021

CNN management had been supportive of Cuomo and keeping his popular show on the air through the controversy. However, some staffers were upset at Cuomo’s violation of journalistic norms and how it may hurt CNN’s credibility.

Shortly after CNN’s announcement, The New York Times reported that a woman had approached CNN on Wednesday with an allegation of sexual misconduct. Debra Katz, the lawyer for the accuser, said her client is “a former junior colleague [of Cuomo’s] at another network.”

CNN issued a statement on Saturday evening in which a spokesperson said, “Based on the report we received regarding Chris's conduct with his brother's defense, we had cause to terminate. When new allegations came to us this week, we took them seriously, and saw no reason to delay taking immediate action.”

Steven Goldberg, a spokesman for Cuomo said, “These apparently anonymous allegations are not true.” Goldberg also implied the goal of the new lawsuit was to “see Mr. Cuomo punished by CNN" and “may explain his unwarranted termination.” 

Katz also represents Charlotte Bennett, who came forward in February to accuse Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment. She was the second woman to do so.

This is not the first time Chris Cuomo has been accused of sexual misconduct. Shelley Ross, a veteran TV producer, wrote in September that Cuomo squeezed her buttock when they were both working at ABC News in 2005. Cuomo apologized to her in an email, which she shared publicly.