星空传媒

Skip to main content

Chris Cuomo wants US$125M for 'unlawful' CNN firing

This May 15, 2019 file photo shows Chris Cuomo at the WarnerMedia Upfront in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File) This May 15, 2019 file photo shows Chris Cuomo at the WarnerMedia Upfront in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
Share
NEW YORK -

Chris Cuomo wants an arbitrator to award him US$125 million for his firing from CNN, alleging his bosses knew full well how he advised his brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and suggested they did the same themselves.

His filing seeking arbitration on Wednesday exposed more ugliness at the network, where Cuomo, CNN chief Jeff Zucker and his top deputy, Allison Gollust, have all been ousted in the past three months.

Zucker fired Cuomo, host of the network's most popular prime time show, in December after a New York Attorney General's report publicly revealed new details about how he helped his brother strategize to fight sexual harassment allegations.

鈥淚t should be obvious by now that Chris Cuomo did not lie to CNN about helping his brother,鈥 said his lawyer, Bryan Freedman. 鈥淚n fact, as the limited information released from Warner Media's investigation makes clear, CNN's highest-level executives not only knew about Chris' involvement in helping his brother but also actively assisted the governor, both through Chris and directly themselves.鈥

There was no comment Wednesday from a representative for Zucker and Gollust. The spokeswoman, Risa Heller, has denied in the past that Gollust, a former press aide to Gov. Cuomo, offered advice or counsel to the governor while she worked at CNN.

CNN declined comment on the filing.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Chris Cuomo interviewed his big brother on CNN nine times - a temporary lift of the network's policy that Chris Cuomo not participate in stories concerning the governor.

In his filing Wednesday, Chris Cuomo said CNN leadership demanded the interviews even though he and his brother had expressed reservations about them.

He said that Zucker and Gollust tried to strengthen the network's ties to his brother and pushed the New York governor not to appear on other networks. He said they requested the governor hold his daily briefings at a time CNN's ratings needed a boost.

鈥淣etwork standards were changed in a calculated decision to boost ratings,鈥 Freedman said. 鈥淲hen those practices were called into question, Chris was made the scapegoat.鈥

Cuomo also dragged two former colleagues into his complaint, saying Don Lemon and Jake Tapper were never disciplined for incidents seen as ethical lapses - Lemon texting Jussie Smollett when the actor was accused of making false allegations of a racist attack, and Tapper allegedly offering advice to a politician.

Networks standards were 鈥渁 moving target,鈥 modified as Zucker and Gollust saw fit, the former 鈥淐uomo Prime Time鈥 host said in the complaint.

With his journalistic integrity 鈥渦njustifiably smeared,鈥 Cuomo will find it difficult to find work in his field in the future and seeks damages of $125 million, the complaint said.

Zucker resigned under pressure earlier this year after it was revealed he violated corporate practices by not disclosing his romance with Gollust. She was forced out shortly thereafter.

CTVNews.ca 星空传媒

Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porsche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.

Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

Advocates have identified the woman who died this week after being shot by police in Surrey, B.C., as a South American refugee who was raising a young daughter.

Three men were injured after trying to subdue a man armed with a knife during afternoon prayers at a Montreal-area mosque Friday afternoon.

A 15-year-old boy who was the subject of an emergency alert in New Brunswick has been arrested.

The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.

Provincial police investigating the death of a cat that was allegedly set on fire in Orillia earlier this week released surveillance video of a person of interest in the case.

Local Spotlight

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

They say a dog is a man鈥檚 best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.