A CNN guest criticized the network’s interviews between anchor Chris Cuomo and his brother, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, while on the air.
Erik Wemple, a media critic for the Washington Post, argued that the media at large covered the sexual harassment allegations against Andrew Cuomo “aggressively” but acknowledged that the interviews between the Cuomo brothers last year offered the New York governor favorable coverage.
“I would be remiss, Brian, if I didn’t mention CNN’s own huge media story here with Chris Cuomo, the anchor at the 9 p.m. hour, who covered Andrew Cuomo and had all these wonderful love-a-thon interviews with him, more than 10 of them. … So, I think that that is a major black eye for CNN,” he said on Sunday during an airing of Reliable Sources with Brian Stelter.
Wemple argued it was hypocritical of the cable news network to allow Chris Cuomo to interview his brother while he was being praised for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and then reverse its decision amid the mounting sexual harassment allegations, citing a “conflict of interest.”
“They suspended the conflict of interest rule for Chris Cuomo for those interviews, yet all of a sudden, they’ve enforced it again now that Andrew Cuomo is in the midst of a historic scandal in the Albany Statehouse,” he added.
During the height of the pandemic, Chris Cuomo repeatedly interviewed his brother on his show, even admitting during one airing of Cuomo Prime Time last July that he’ll “never be objective” when covering the New York governor.
CNN has since banned the younger Cuomo from covering his brother, with Chris Cuomo saying he “obviously … cannot cover” the allegations against Andrew Cuomo.
The New York governor has been accused of sexual harassment by seven women and is dealing with blowback from reports that he undercounted his state’s COVID-19 death toll in nursing homes. The scandals have resulted in two investigations: Attorney General Letitia James appointed two attorneys to lead an investigation at the state level, and the New York state Assembly initiated an “impeachment investigation” under the direction of Speaker Carl Heastie, a Democrat.
Several high-profile Democrats have called on the governor to resign, with Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer joining the majority of the New York congressional delegation in urging Cuomo to step down.
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The governor, who has maintained he never touched anyone inappropriately even as he apologized for making anyone feel uncomfortable, has repeatedly resisted calls to resign.
“I’m not going to resign,” he said on Friday.
