For the last several months — and for the last couple weeks in particular — things have been a little awkward for Chris Cuomo. His brother, exiting New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, has been the subject of multiple controversies, among them allegations that he sexually harassed 11 women, several of them staffers. Chris, who admitted to advising his brother on his scandals, wasn’t allowed to cover any of it. But nearly a week after his older brother announced his resignation, he finally did.
Chris Cuomo addresses his brother's resignation, says "I never covered my brother's troubles because I obviously had a conflict." He doesn't apologize for advising him — in fact he denies serving as an adviser altogether — and says he urged Andrew to resign. pic.twitter.com/onqRTuqmvJ
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 17, 2021
Chris was on vacation last week, when the big news broke, but he was on the air when New York Attorney General Letitia James released her damning report, concluding that Andrew was guilty of harassment and creating a toxic work environment. He didn’t mention it then, but, on Monday, after discussing the chaos in Afghanistan, he addressed the elephant in the room.
“I’m not an adviser. I’m a brother. I wasn’t in control of anything, I was there to listen, and offer my take,” Chris told his audience. “My advice to my brother was simple and consistent, own what you did, tell people what you will do to be better, be contrite, and finally accept that it doesn’t matter what you intended, what matters is how your actions and words were perceived.”
He did claim there was one piece of advice Andrew took: “And while it was not something that I ever imagined ever having to do, I did urge my brother to resign, when the time came.”
Chris also addressed his previous attempts to advise Andrew, for which he apologized, saying it wouldn’t happen again. “I stopped, and I meant it,” Cuomo said. “I never made calls to the press about my brother’s situation, and I never influenced or attempted to control CNN’s coverage of my family.”
Andrew used to appear occasionally on his younger brother’s show, often joking around about their sibling semi-rivalry. After allegations came forth about COVID-related nursing home deaths in New York, accusing Andrew of mishandling their health protocols, those appearances ended.
(Via THR)