Disgraced news personality Chris Cuomo announced on Tuesday evening that he was getting a new prime time show on a small cable news channel to much criticism and mockery online.
“I want to find a way to help people. I’m going to come to NewsNation. And I want to build something special here,” Chris Cuomo said during an interview with NewsNation anchor Dan Abrams. “I had decided that I can’t go back to what people see as the big game. I don’t think I can make a difference there. I think we need insurgent media. I think we need outlets that aren’t fringe and just trying to fill their pockets.”
Cuomo warned his potential viewers to not listen to the outlets who tell them “don’t listen to anybody else, only listen to me.”
“I’m going to do the job. I’m going to go where the news is, and I’m going to try very hard to be fair,” Cuomo claimed. “And I want to do it here. I want to make a difference. And I’m really hoping that it makes a difference for you [the viewer]. And I thank NewsNation very much for the opportunity.”
Both Cuomo and NewsNation were slammed online after the announcement from more than a few notable sources.
“I missed Chris Cuomo like I missed the shingles,” said Fox News’ Dagen McGowell.
“Former CNN anchor Chris Cuomo – fired for journalistic ethical violations & accused of sexual harassment – lands primetime gig at @NewsNation 6 months later. Meantime women who come forward about harassment never work again. WHY ARE WE OK W/ THIS?” said Gretchen Carlson, former Fox News host and activist.
The Washington Post reported that the NewsNation aims to provide “down-the-middle, unbiased news reporting and analysis.” Cuomo is an odd choice for a news anchor considering that he was fired while under investigation at CNN over his alleged role in trying to help his brother, then-New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, navigate a sexual misconduct scandal that ultimately led to his resignation.
Lindsey Boylan, the whistleblower who reported that Andrew Cuomo had kissed her in 2018, said, “Surely this NewsNation interview with Chris Cuomo was completely not biased & had nothing to do with him getting a show on the same network this fall… …the kind of professional journalism & ethics for which Dan Abrams & NewsNations are known. Wonder if the five people who watch NewsNation are happy!”
In addition, Chris Cuomo faced sexual assault allegations of his own after attorney Debra S. Katz said in a statement in December that she was representing a client who claimed that Chris Cuomo engaged in “serious sexual misconduct” against her at another network.
Katz said she notified CNN of the allegations and that they were ultimately what led to Chris Cuomo being fired from the network. Katz said in a statement that Cuomo demonstrated hypocrisy when he claimed he cared “very deeply” about the issue of sexual harassment only to be revealed in an investigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James to have aided his brother’s efforts to “smear” his accusers.
During the interview, Cuomo downplayed the claims of sexual assault, denying the accusations and stating that they were “in the past.”
“My feeling is, it’s in the past,” he said, “I’m never going to be able to convince people one way or another [and] I feed the story by commenting on it.”
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