NEW YORK, NY – In a guest essay for the New York Times published on Friday, Chris Cuomo has been accused of sexual harassment by a TV producer at his previous employer, ABC News, back when the current CNN anchor was hosting the eponymous show “Cuomo Prime Time.”
Cuomo – bother of disgraced former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo who resigned from office this past August after also being accused of sexual harassment by multiple women – is said to have been grabbing and squeezing former ABC News executive producer Shelley Ross’ buttocks at a party in 2005 without asking her permission first.
“I was at the party with my husband, who sat behind me on an ottoman sipping his Diet Coke as I spoke with work friends,” Ross said. “When Mr. Cuomo entered the Upper West Side bar, he walked toward me and greeted me with a strong bear hug while lowering one hand to firmly grab and squeeze the cheek of my buttock.”
The victim also has provided an email purportedly authored by Cuomo where he seems to admit to the groping and expressed his apologies.
Ross detailed the encounter with Cuomo in her New York Times essay, entitled “Chris Cuomo Sexually Harassed Me. I Hope He’ll Use His Power to Make Change.” The essay has since gone viral, with multiple people sharing and discussing the news online.
Cuomo – host of “Cuomo Prime Time” on CNN since 2018 – had already courted controversy for his lack of coverage of his brother’s own harassment allegations, as well as advising him in private by reportedly telling his brother that he shouldn’t resign from office and blaming the entire situation on “cancel culture.”
One of Andrew Cuomo’s accusers, Lindsey Boylan, expressed her support for Ross on Twitter by thanking her for taking a stand over the alleged harassment, and asked Chris Cuomo to take responsibility for his actions.
“Thank you Shelley Ross. Your focus on accountability is exactly right,” Boylan said. “@ChrisCuomo will you hold yourself accountable?”
Cuomo provided a statement to the New York Times prior to the essay’s publication, reiterating his regret over the incident.
“As Shelley acknowledges, our interaction was not sexual in nature,” he said. “It happened 16 years ago in a public setting when she was a top executive at ABC. I apologized to her then, and I meant it.”
As of press time, CNN has not issued any comments or statements on the allegation against Cuomo.