NEW YORK – A new allegation of sexual harassment against Chris Cuomo comes just days before CNN announced it would fire the anchor amid an investigation into the work he performed to protect defended his brother from similar harassment allegations.
Attorney Debra Katz said Sunday her client was the victim of “serious sexual misconduct” by Cuomo and she contacted CNN about the woman’s allegations Wednesday.
CNN suspended Cuomo earlier this week after it detailed how he supported his brother, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, as the politician faced sexual harassment allegations. . Network officials said “additional information came to light” upon the announcement of the firing of Chris Cuomo on Saturday, but did not elaborate.
Katz said the whistleblower’s decision came after the New York attorney general’s office released evidence that Cuomo played a much more active role than previously thought in strategic planning and helping deliver react to the allegations his brother is facing. When allegations initially surfaced against Andrew Cuomo, Chris Cuomo told viewers he’s “always cared very deeply about these issues,” Katz said.
“Hearing that Chris Cuomo’s online statements were hypocritical and disgusting at the attempt to discredit these women, my client consulted an attorney to report misconduct. his serious sexual assault on her with her,” Katz said in the statement.
CNN said it looked into Chris Cuomo’s conduct after receiving new information and a law firm hired to help told CNN there were grounds for firing him.
“It goes without saying that these decisions are not easy and there are a lot of complicating factors involved,” CNN director Jeff Zucker wrote in an email to CNN staff on Saturday.
Cuomo released a statement on Twitter calling the decision disappointing.
“This is not how I wanted my time at CNN to end but I told you why and how I helped my brother. So now let me say how disappointed I am that this happened. , I couldn’t be more proud of the team at Cuomo Prime Time and the work we did,” he said.
The new allegation of misconduct comes after Shelley Ross, a veteran television executive, wrote a column for The New York Times in September saying that Chris Cuomo groped her at a party. 16 years ago, when they both worked for ABC News. “I apologized to her then, and I mean it,” Cuomo told the newspaper.
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