Gianni Russo, who starred in The Godfather, said Chris Cuomo made a fool out of himself during his viral rant, in which the CNN anchor likened the name “Fredo” to the N-word.
Russo, who played a treacherous son-in-law in the 1972 classic, told TMZ that Cuomo’s father, former Gov. Mario Cuomo, would “smack him” over the tirade. Cuomo’s brother, Andrew Cuomo, is the current governor of New York.
The actor said calling the name “Fredo” an ethnic slur was “nonsense” and that it is simply a reference to a weak character. He also asserted that Cuomo likely hurt his career with the outburst, and criticized news anchors in general for becoming too opinionated in recent years. “They’re supposed to report news,” Russo said. “It’s not about what you think.”
Video emerged last week depicting Cuomo in an argument with a Trump supporter who called him “Fredo.”
Cuomo, 49, told the Trump supporter he would “f—ing throw you down these stairs like a f—ing punk.”
“You’re gonna have a f—ing problem. It’s a little different on TV. Don’t f—ing insult me like that. You called me Fredo, like I call you ‘punk bitch,'” the anchor can also be heard saying in the video.
CNN Vice President of Communications Matt Dornic backed Cuomo up, saying, “Chris Cuomo defended himself when he was verbally attacked with the use of an ethnic slur in an orchestrated setup. We completely support him.”
Many in the media, and even President Trump himself, ridiculed Cuomo for the incident.
