If you haven’t seen the video of Chris Cuomo threatening to beat somebody up for calling him “Fredo,” then I’m happy to be the one showing you. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my entire life.
WARNING: Chris Cuomo says some bad words.
A man in NY yesterday approached CNN’s Chris Cuomo and called him “Fredo”
Cuomo: “You’re going to have a problem”
Man: “What are you going to do about it?”
Cuomo: “I’ll fuckin ruin your shit. I’ll fucking throw you down these stairs”
Credit: “THAT’S THE POINT with Brandon” pic.twitter.com/4iWwzaSQpF
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) August 13, 2019
There are a lot of ways you can respond when you think somebody has insulted you, but of course Chris Cuomo responded in Chris Cuomo fashion: aggressively hostile and hilariously stupid. He really was about to throw down with this dude, just for calling him “Fredo.”
What better way to shatter stereotypes about Italians than to yell and scream and threaten to beat up a guy in a public place over a harmless slight?
There’s a lot about this that’s funny, but perhaps the most amusing part is Cuomo’s assertion that the name “Fredo” is somehow “like the N-word for Italians.” We know this isn’t true right off the bat, because Cuomo himself keeps saying “Fredo” and not “the F-word.”
Besides that, how many times have people used the Fredo-word on CNN or MSNBC? More than once!
Here’s Rick Wilson calling Rep. Nunes “the Fredo of the Republican party” on CNN back in March. pic.twitter.com/Ao4fkH9Ike
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) August 13, 2019
Devin Nunes was referred to as “Fredo” on CNN in March. CNN’s David Gregory compared @DonaldJTrumpJr to “Fredo” in February. And in January, CNN’s Ana Navarro referred to @DonaldJTrumpJr as “Fredo”…to Cuomo on his own show. https://t.co/jXCUfFkYvs
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) August 13, 2019
.@ananavarro slams Don Jr. for likening border wall to zoo fence: He’s an “entitled, rich, spoiled little brat whose only call to fame is being his daddy’s son.”
“[D]addy kept Fredo back home…Who cares what [he] says. I don’t want to talk about that entitled little brat.” pic.twitter.com/zpTtp8ZfAd— Cuomo Prime Time (@CuomoPrimeTime) January 10, 2019
Here’s ANOTHER one, telling @JackieSpeier on March 12 that, referring this time to Jared Kushner -> “Congresswoman, I don’t know what to say here, except anybody who has seen ‘The Godfather’ is seeing Fredo here being manipulated by the guy out West.” pic.twitter.com/pu8DZrPbxM
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 13, 2019
On November 9, Matthews said this about Trump firing Jeff Sessions and hiring Matt Whitaker after the midterms: “Just like in The Godfather, he waited for mom to die before he killed Fredo.” pic.twitter.com/yFVUyCNy7v
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 13, 2019
Or how about all the other times libs have used “Fredo” as an insult? It’s their go-to slur!
I’m smart! pic.twitter.com/G8WxhCwUCj
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) January 6, 2018
Trump is Fredo. Now it all makes sense. https://t.co/4NSPJiqyiD
— jason alexander (@IJasonAlexander) January 7, 2018
Opinion: “If the president is playing Godfather in this particular drama, all the grown sons are Fredo” https://t.co/rQSMPRVWrP
— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 13, 2017
Another reminder that everyone connected to the Trump administration is an absolute Fredo https://t.co/og8UWHc37y
— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) January 25, 2019
Hey Fredo, I think you might want to worry less about lying about me and more about the lies you have told Congress (and Bob Mueller’s focus on your lying).
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) February 28, 2019
They sure do like calling people they don’t like “Fredo.” But now, suddenly, “Fredo” is a slur against Italians? Whassamatta for you? Get the funk outta heah!
In Chris Cuomo’s defense, though, the slur isn’t applicable here. In the Corleone family, Fredo was the dumbest. In the Cuomo family, they’re all the dumbest.
If CNN had responded to the release of that video by saying, “The guy was with his family, just leave him alone,” I’d agree. But instead, they’re going to the mattresses. They’re doubling down on Cuomo’s ridiculous claim of racism, so they deserve whatever they get.
Chris Cuomo defended himself when he was verbally attacked with the use of an ethnic slur in an orchestrated setup. We completely support him.
— Matt Dornic (@mdornic) August 13, 2019
As for who’s really being insulted here, consider this comparison:
John Cazale, who played Fredo, only made five movies before his untimely death at the age of 42, but they were all nominated for Best Picture Oscars.
Chris Cuomo has the last name “Cuomo.”
If you want to insult an Italian, you don’t call him “Fredo.” You call him “Chris Cuomo.”
Update: Don’t send him out on the lake with Neri just yet.
Appreciate all the support but – truth is I should be better than the guys baiting me. This happens all the time these days. Often in front of my family. But there is a lesson: no need to add to the ugliness; I should be better than what I oppose.
— Christopher C. Cuomo (@ChrisCuomo) August 13, 2019
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