The Chris Cuomo CNN Fiasco Just Got Far More Disturbing
Another day, another scandal at CNN. The New York Times reported that Jeff Zucker initially suspended Cuomo because of the unethical assistance he gave his brother, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. But a letter from an attorney representing a woman who worked with the younger Cuomo at ABC News changed everything. Less than 24 hours after Zucker suspended Cuomo, an accuser came forward with shocking allegations against the CNN anchor. The letter from Jane Doe's attorney said the woman was "disgusted by the similarities" between Governor Cuomo's accusers' stories and her experience with the CNN anchor, his younger brother.
The lawyer wrote that Cuomo's accuser was "deeply traumatized" and planned to remain anonymous so as not to become "a pawn in an internecine war between [Jeff] Zucker, Chris Cuomo, and CNN." Zucker fired Cuomo over the Jane Doe allegations before Zucker himself resigned from CNN two months later. On February 15, Zucker lieutenant Allison Gollust was ousted from CNN related to an investigation that reported "Jeff Zucker, Allison Gollust, and Chris Cuomo" all violated company policies. Buckle up, because the accusations against Cuomo are alarming.
Chris Cuomo allegedly sexually assaulted a colleague, then tried to silence her
Chris Cuomo allegedly sexually assaulted a female temp worker in 2011 while working at ABC News, then tried to silence the woman in his role at CNN. According to The New York Times, Chris invited the woman to have lunch in his office at ABC to talk to her about getting a full-time job. When the temp worker went into Chris' office, there was no food, and the anchor pressured her for sex. When she declined Chris' advances, he allegedly sexually assaulted her.
The Times reported that five years after the assault — at the height of the #MeToo movement — Chris reached out to the woman and suggested she arrange a segment about the PR company she worked for. According to her lawyer, "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." She called Chris' alleged actions an "abuse of power at CNN to attempt to silence my client."
While the accuser claimed she was "disgusted by the similarities" between her experience and those of Andrew Cuomo's accusers, it's worth noting that Andrew was accused of sexual harassment, but never a full-on sexual assault. Andrew told Bloomberg on February 7 that he feels "vindicated" and may run for office again in the future.
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).