Chris Cuomo's Exit From CNN Reportedly Grows More Contentious

Nothing about Chris Cuomo's departure from CNN has been smooth, and now that his former boss was forced to leave as well, Cuomo wants all the smoke. On February 2, Jeff Zucker — the network's president — resigned after failing to fully disclose his romantic relationship with executive VP Allison Gollust, per The New York Times. "I was asked about a consensual relationship with my closest colleague, someone I have worked with for more than 20 years," he wrote in a memo to his colleagues. "I acknowledged the relationship evolved in recent years. I was required to disclose it when it began but I didn't. I was wrong."

Zucker was responsible for firing Chris after it was brought to light that he was unethically advising his brother — then-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo — on how to combat his sexual misconduct allegations, per CNN. However, sources suggest that in a bid for a larger settlement, the former anchor will claim that Zucker was well aware of the conversations he had with his brother at the time, per Daily Mail. 

Now that everything has been brought to the surface with Zucker, Cuomo has come up with a hefty price tag for his settlement. 

According to Page Six, Chris Cuomo plans to demand up to $60 million from CNN. The former host of "Cuomo Prime Time" will likely claim that Jeff Zucker knew about his dealings with his brother Andrew. "Chris intends to fight for every dollar on his contract, and loss of income from the 15 to 20 years left in his career," a source close to the outlet revealed. Cuomo claims the "network boss had his own inappropriate dealings with Andrew," and an insider in his camp believes "Zucker wasn't fired for an inappropriate relationship with Allison Gollust. Everybody knew about that and nobody cared." 

The reason Cuomo is preparing to ask for millions of dollars is because he believes he was "wrongly fired, humiliated, his career has been ruined, and he wants Megyn Kelly money," another source added. NBC canceled the "Megyn Kelly Today" show after the former host stirred up controversy for "defending the use of blackface," and Kelly later received a $69 million settlement from the network, per Vanity Fair. 

Despite Cuomo's plans, his former co-workers and friends at CNN don't agree with him. During a meeting in regards to the recent news, Don Lemon raised the question about the message it would send to journalists that "someone can be found to break with those journalistic standards and then get paid handsomely for it," per The Wall Street Journal.