While the narrative behind his termination had been that his helping of his brother, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, affected his impartiality as a “journalist,” there might be a little more clarity as to why former host Chris Cuomo was finally let go by CNN.
The New York Times (NYT) reported that employment lawyer Debra S. Katz presented CNN with information concerning a sexual misconduct allegation levied against Chris Cuomo by a client of hers.
According to the NYT:
It was not fully clear what role the allegation played in CNN’s decision to dismiss Mr. Cuomo. Ms. Katz is also the lawyer for Charlotte Bennett, a onetime aide to Andrew Cuomo who accused the former governor in February of sexual harassment.
Asked about the new allegation, a CNN spokeswoman said in a statement on Saturday night: “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.”
Cuomo’s spokesman Steven Goldberg said in a statement that the allegations against the younger Cuomo brother “are not true.”
And this wasn’t the first time the younger Cuomo has had allegations brought against him.
Fox News reported:
Shelley Ross, a veteran TV producer, went public in September, penning a guest essay in The New York Times alleging that Cuomo squeezed her buttock at a work function in 2005 while the two of them were colleagues at ABC News. She shared the email he had sent to her apologizing for the incident.
Cuomo was suspended by CNN last Tuesday over the help he provided his brother while CNN, and other outlets, were reporting on Andrew’s allegations of sexual misconduct.