Entertainment
CNN’s Chris Cuomo breaks silence on brother Andrew Cuomo’s resignation as New York Governor: ‘This will be my final word on it’
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CNN anchor Chris Cuomo has broken his silence on his brother Andrew Cuomo’s resignation as New York Governor, stressing that his statement will be his ‘final word’ on the matter.
Earlier this month, Andrew announced that he was resigning from his position following multiple allegations of sexual harassment.
The news came after the New York attorney general’s office released a report concluding that he had sexually harassed 11 women, with his resignation coming into effect after 14 days.
While the politician called the attorney general’s report ‘false’, he apologised to the women he ‘offended’, stating: ‘This is not to say that there are not 11 women I truly offended. There are. And for that, I deeply, deeply apologise.’
Chris, who presents weeknight show Cuomo Prime Time on CNN and is the younger sibling of Andrew, shared a statement during his eponymous programme, explaining that there are rules in place at the broadcaster preventing him from reporting on his brother.
The journalist began his statement by expressing his thanks to those who have reached out with ‘concern and support’.
Andrew’s resignation will soon come into effect (Picture: Carlo Allegri/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
‘Mr brother as you know resigned as Governor of New York and will be stepping down next week. 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 this,’ he said.
Chris emphasised that it’s ‘never easy being in this business and coming from a political family’, saying that the scandal surrounding his brother ‘is unlike anything I could have imagined’.
He stated that he ‘never covered’ his ‘brother’s troubles’ as he ‘obviously has a conflict’, adding that ‘everyone knows you support your family’.
The anchor recalled a time last year when he said that Andrew’s appearances on the show ‘would be short-lived’, explaining that he also previously said 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,’ he said.
Anchor said this will be his ‘final word’ on his brother (Picture: CNN)
Chris stressed that he is ‘not an advisor’, having advised his brother to ‘own what you did, tell people what you’ll 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. And yes, while it was something I never imagined ever having to do, I did urge my brother to resign when the time came,’ he said.
Chris shut down ‘unsupported’ claims that have been reported, saying that he ‘never misled anyone’ on his show, nor did he ‘attack’ or ‘encourage 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,’ he said.
The presenter acknowledged a mistake he made back in May, when he was informed that he was no longer allowed to communicate with Andrew’s aides in group meetings, something which he apologised to his colleagues for.
More: US TV news
‘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.
‘As I’ve said, we have rules here at CNN that prevent me from reporting on my brother. They remain in place and will continue to. Tonight I simply wanted to address something that given what’s happened, I just felt it needed to be said. This will be my final word on it, and I appreciate you giving me the opportunity to do so.’
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