The Jeff Zucker Controversy Gets Messier Amid Explosive Claims About Chris Cuomo's Supposed Involvement
Jeff Zucker hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons in February as the now former CNN president resigned from his job at the prestigious news network after it was reported he had not disclosed "a romantic relationship with a senior executive," as reported by BBC. He made the surprising announcement in a message received by CNN's employees on February 2, in which Zucker wrote that he "was required to disclose [the relationship] when it began but I didn't." He also claimed he "was wrong" for keeping things a secret and added, "As a result, I am resigning today."
It was reportedly claimed that Zucker's romantic relationship with his fellow CNN employee started sometime amid the grip of the Coronavirus pandemic, though Daily Mail denied that timeline and instead claimed that an inside source had alleged "their secret relationship had started years earlier." Notably, Zucker and the woman he's alleged to have been romantically involved with, Allison Gollust, are both divorced.
But while things are messy enough due to Zucker stepping down from his role, it's now getting even more dramatic as former CNN employee Chris Cuomo's name is being thrown into the mix — and his former co-workers don't exactly have the nicest things to say amid his involvement in the latest drama to hit CNN.
Chris Cuomo's effect on Jeff Zucker
Chris Cuomo is having the finger pointed at him amid the Jeff Zucker CNN controversy. Chris's name first came up amid the drama in Zucker's memo to staff, as he claimed he failed to disclose his relationship despite being asked while CNN investigated Chris relating to the controversy involving his brother, Andrew Cuomo, and how much he helped him.
CNN correspondent Brian Stelter then made it clear he wasn't happy with Chris as he and Alisyn Camerota, who also worked with Chris, discussed the controversy on CNN.
Following up on Camerota defending Zucker, Stelter made explosive claims about Chris, saying, per Fox News, "I think there's two layers I would add to that. Number one is the Chris Cuomo reference. He's not going out quietly. There were reports he was going to get paid the millions of dollars on the remainder of his contract." He then cited "a source" as alleging that Chris "was trying to burn the place down."
Stelter suggested Chris was allegedly "going to court" to try and take down the network "and claiming he had incriminating information." He added, "If this is the case, this is a domino effect that begins with Andrew Cuomo and Chris Cuomo being fired. That's a remarkable domino event. I think that's part of the story."
Chris was let go by CNN in December 2021 after the network's investigation into his behavior following sexual misconduct allegations made against Andrew. Andrew has denied the allegations.