CNN has fired Chris Cuomo. The announcement of Cuomo’s termination, “effective immediately,” came at 5 p.m. on Saturday. It was made after an outside law firm had been retained by the network to review information about exactly how the host of Cuomo Primetime assisted his brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, when the then-governor was accused of sexual misconduct. (TVNewser)
Chris Cuomo, who hosted CNN’s most-watched prime-time news show, had been suspended on Tuesday. He had admitted in May that he had broken some of the cable news network’s rules in advising his brother how to handle the allegations from a public relations perspective. (Reuters)
In a statement early Saturday evening, the network said that it had “retained a respected law firm” to review Chris Cuomo’s involvement in his brother’s crisis-management efforts and that “in the process of that review, additional information has come to light. Despite the termination, we will investigate as appropriate.” (WaPo)
On Wednesday, Debra S. Katz, a prominent employment lawyer, informed CNN of a client with an allegation of sexual misconduct against Chris Cuomo. Katz said in a statement on Saturday that the allegation against the anchor, which was made by a former junior colleague at another network, was “unrelated to the Gov. Andrew Cuomo matter.” (NYT)
“These apparently anonymous allegations are not true,” Chris Cuomo’s spokesperson said. “To the extent that they were sent to CNN to negate what Chris Cuomo told his audience, he fully stands by his on-air statements about his connection to these issues, both professionally and in a profoundly personal way.” (Deadline)
Chris Cuomo said following the announcement, “This is not how I want my time at CNN to end.” (The Hill)