Chris Cuomo Going to War With CNN to Clear Name Following Zucker Ouster

Chris Cuomo Going to War With CNN to Clear Name Following Zucker Ouster


Fired “Primetime” CNN host Chris Cuomo apparently is not finished yet with his former employer.

Fox Business reported Friday that the onetime network personality wants $20 million he says he has coming to him in the wake of CNN boss Jeff Zucker’s surprise resignation last week.

The network went on to note that Cuomo wants to “clear his name” especially after the revelation that Zucker stepped down for failing to disclose a romantic relationship with a colleague as part of the network’s investigation into the former Primetime host, who was canned for failing to reveal the extent of help he gave his brother, now-former New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who resigned after several women accused him of sexual harassment over a span of years.

The report notes:

The former CNN anchor is preparing the for mother-of-all legal battles with his former employer, contending that he was improperly fired by his old boss Jeff Zucker, who himself was ousted as head of the network earlier this week, according to people close to CNN.

Chris Cuomo was forced out of CNN in December by Zucker, who said he was unaware of the scope of advice his former star anchor was giving his embattled brother…

Zucker’s forced resignation was said to be based on a consensual romantic relationship with Allison Gollust, CNN’s chief marketing officer and an executive vice president, who worked both closely with and for Zucker for many years. The former CNN chief in his resignation statement said he violated network rules by not disclosing the relationship to his supervisors at CNN’s parent, Warner Media, a unit of AT&T.

According to CNN sources who spoke to Fox Business, Chris Cuomo’s planned legal actions may reveal additional details to the public narrative of why Zucker was forced out at the network after running it for nine years and after engaging in what many saw as an ‘open secret’ type of relationship with Gollust.

Cuomo and his legal team are planning to file an arbitration claim against his former network that they are telling people will not only shed new light on his own firing but also expose Zucker’s alleged lapses in journalistic ethics (not that Cuomo has a ton of ethics himself, mind you — he claimed he did not contact media pals to make inquiries about sexual harassment allegations against his brother that were coming down the pipe when he actually did).

Sources who spoke to Fox Business were not certain when the arbitration claim was coming, but it was described as “soon.” Also, the network notes that contract professionals cannot settle disputes in court, they have to seek arbitration.

Also, Cuomo could simply walk away and get on with his career, but that doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen, the network said.

The report said that Cuomo’s action will probably center around claims that he kept Zucker in the loop regularly regarding his involvement with his brother, so therefore his firing lacked any real merit.

“Cuomo also plans to argue that those dealings, from a professional standpoint, aren’t materially different from the dealings both Gollust and Zucker had with Andrew Cuomo particularly during the early days of the COVID pandemic when they were seeking a relationship with the former governor who had achieved rock-star like fame and status for his daily briefings on the state’s efforts to deal with the virus,” Fox Business adds.

“Chris Cuomo is prepared to argue that Zucker and Gollust, herself a former adviser to the governor, saw ratings gold in booking Andrew Cuomo on Chris Cuomo’s show as much as possible, these people say,” the report continued.

“Chris Cuomo is prepared to say that their interactions with Andrew Cuomo stepped over the line from journalism to providing advice, not much different from the actions that led to his termination,” it added.

CNN has a mountain of problems, obviously, which seems likely to have contributed, at least somewhat, to the network’s ratings free-fall.


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