CNN’s Chris Cuomo explained why he did not cover his brother’s sexual harassment scandal on air, saying he “tried to do the right thing.”
During his show Monday night, Chris Cuomo addressed the criticism he received for not covering the matter and opened up about how he tried to be there for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D).
“There are a lot of people feeling a lot of hurt and a lot of pain right now. And my hope is that ultimately everyone involved can get to a better place, that some higher good will be served in all of this,” Chris Cuomo said.
He explained, “I never covered my brother’s troubles because I obviously have a conflict, and there are rules at CNN about that. I said last year that his appearances on this show would be short-lived, and they were. The last was over a year ago, long before any kind of scandal.
Chris Cuomo continued, “I also said back then that a day would come when he would have to be held to account, and I can’t do that. I said point blank, I can’t be objective when it comes to my family, so I never reported on the scandal, and when it happened, I tried to be there for my brother.”
Watch his comments below:
"It was a unique situation being a brother to a politician in a scandal and being part of the media," @ChrisCuomo says. "I tried to do the right thing, and I just want you-all to know that." pic.twitter.com/oSWnxNImwG
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) August 17, 2021
He confirmed he did urge the governor to resign. Responding to the criticism, Chris Cuomo told his audience, “I never misled anyone about the information I was delivering or not delivering on this program. I never attacked nor encouraged anyone to attack any woman who came forward. I never made calls to the press about my brother’s situation. I never influenced or attempted to control CNN’s coverage of my family.”
The CNN anchor added, “And as you know, back in May when I was told to no longer communicate with my brother’s aides in any group meetings, I acknowledged it was a mistake, I apologized to my colleagues, I stopped, and I meant it. It was a unique situation being a brother to a politician in a scandal and being part of the media. I tried to do the right thing, and I just want you all to know that.”
He said this would be his “final word on it” and thanked the audience for allowing him to address it.
Last week, Andrew Cuomo announced he is stepping down after the state’s attorney general found that he sexually harassed several women, as IJR reported.
