Disgraced CNN anchor Chris Cuomo was fired in December after “additional information” had “come to light” during their internal review of his actions regarding his brother. However, there were also rumors at the time of sexual harassment allegations.
It quickly became apparent that Cuomo was uninterested in going down in flames alone. After being fired, Cuomo claimed that Zucker was very much aware of his efforts to help his brother through his sexual misconduct allegations.
At the time, Cuomo’s attorney said in a statement that his client “has the highest level of admiration and respect for Mr. Zucker,” before pointing out that Cuomo and Zucker “were widely known to be extremely close and in regular contact, including about the details of Mr. Cuomo’s support for his brother. There were no secrets about this, as other individuals besides Mr. Cuomo can attest.”
I previously pointed out that even though the statement appeared to be complimentary towards Zucker, it was clearly designed to link Zucker to Cuomo’s efforts to help his brother—which got him fired.
CNN denied Cuomo’s claim. “He has made a number of accusations that are patently false,” CNN said in a statement. “This reinforces why he was terminated for violating our standards and practices, as well as his lack of candor.”
Regardless of whom you believe, the statement made it very clear that Cuomo wasn’t going down quietly. That he intentionally linked Zucker, the president of the network, to his scandal made that perfectly clear.
So, while Zucker’s announcement on Wednesday was shocking, it was not surprising in the least that Zucker’s resignation was due to his failure to disclose a “consensual relationship” during the Cuomo investigation.
“As part of the investigation into Chris Cuomo’s tenure at CNN, I was asked about a consensual relationship with my closest colleague, someone I have worked with for more than 20 years,” Zucker wrote in his statement announcing his resignation. “I acknowledged the relationship evolved in recent years. I was required to disclose it when I began but I didn’t. I was wrong.”
The colleague has been revealed to be CNN executive vice president and chief marketing officer Allison Gollust. “Jeff and I have been close friends and professional partners for over 20 years,” she said in a statement. “Recently, our relationship changed during Covid. I regret that we didn’t disclose it at the right time.”
But, let’s get back to Chris Cuomo.
It is hardly a coincidence that Chris Cuomo made a point to say in December that he and Zucker were “extremely close and in regular contact, including about the details of Mr. Cuomo’s support for his brother.” It certainly sounded like Cuomo was saying that he and Zucker’s closeness meant they discussed many things beyond just what he was doing to help his brother, disgraced former New York governor Andrew Cuomo.
It was a warning, no doubt, that Cuomo was going to spill CNN’s dirty secrets. And Cuomo came through. According to an unnamed source who spoke with the Daily Mail, it was, in fact, Cuomo who “forced Jeff Zucker’s resignation from CNN by blowing the whistle on his years-long, open-secret affair with staffer Allison Gollust while fighting for his $18million severance pay.”
So, the next question is, who’s next?
My money is on Brian Stelter. As soon as Cuomo was let go, Stelter started trashing him. Stelter accused Cuomo of “violat[ing] journalistic ethics and norms not once or twice, but many times,” calling his actions “a serious breach of standards and practices.”
“I think this may be a situation where it was death by a thousand cuts, where there were just so many headaches time and time again involving Chris Cuomo that even though many viewers loved ‘Cuomo Prime Time,’ looked forward to his show, he was causing so many headaches for the network and for CNN staffers that ultimately this decision was reached,” Stelter also said.
Make no mistake about it, CNN’s problems aren’t over.
