CNN anchor Chris Cuomo is facing backlash after suggesting that calling an Italian “Fredo” is equivalent to the N-word.
Cuomo, 49, made the comparison after someone called him “Fredo,” a reference to the weak character from The Godfather.
“No, punk-ass b–ches from the Right call me ‘Fredo.’ My name is Chris Cuomo. I’m an anchor on CNN,” the newsman said. “‘Fredo’ was from The Godfather. He was a weak brother and they use that as an Italian slur — are any of you Italian?”
[Read more: ‘Truth hurts’: Trump labels Chris Cuomo ‘Fredo’ after video of confrontation surfaces]
“It’s a f—ing insult to your people. It’s an insult to your f—ing people. It’s like the N-word for us,” He added.
While many on social media have differed on whether or not Cuomo responded appropriately, he was condemned widely for comparing the name to the N-word.
I think the guy was being a jerk to @chriscuomo, and I certainly understand Cuomo getting pissed, but there’s just no way calling someone Fredo Corleone is like the n-word. There just isn’t. That’s plain nuts.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) August 13, 2019
Conservative pundit Ben Shapiro tweeted that he thought “the guy was being a jerk” to Cuomo, but “there’s just no way calling someone Fredo Corleone is like the n-word.”
So @ChrisCuomo says calling him “Fredo” is like the “N-word for us”
Weird, I don’t recall him having an issue with Ana Navarro calling @DonaldJTrumpJr “Fredo” ON HIS SHOW ON CNN.
I also don’t recall CNN having an issue with Rick Wilson calling Rep. Nunez “Fredo” on CNN.
Hmm… pic.twitter.com/cTdm9TdWMU
— Caleb Hull (@CalebJHull) August 13, 2019
Similarly, former National Rifle Association spokeswoman Dana Loesch mocked Cuomo by remembering that he also insisted “fake news” is “as bad as the N word.”
Words that are as bad as the N word, according to Cuomo:
– Fredo
– Fake news— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) August 13, 2019
Video: Someone tell Chris Cuomo that Chris Matthews needs to be thrown down some stairs for saying the Italian-American version of the n-word because, on April 9, Matthews told @JoaquinCastroTX that @DonaldJTrumpJr is the “Fredo-like son” of the First Family pic.twitter.com/aoGS7wSR5B
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 13, 2019
So @ChrisCuomo says that “Fredo”— a character on The Godfather— is the same as the n-word? Equating the two is the very definition of white privilege and diminishes the generations of hate African Americans have had to endure. https://t.co/vbwIAran9S
— Steven Cheung (@CaliforniaPanda) August 13, 2019
Donald Trump Jr. tweeted that Cuomo “grotesquely compar[ed] ‘Fredo’ to the N word.”
Unbelievable: @Youtube has taken down the viral video showing @chriscuomo threatening to assault a heckler and then grotesquely comparing “Fredo” to the N word. Youtube/Google literally covering up his racism and violent threats. You can’t make this stuff up. #StopTheBias https://t.co/A14f5CLSpN
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) August 13, 2019
Fox News host Sean Hannity, by contrast, defended Cuomo, arguing that the man who called him Fredo “is being a jackass in front of [Cuomo’s] family” and that Cuomo “has zero to apologize for,” though he did not address the comparison itself.
I say good for @ChrisCuomo
He’s out with his 9 year old daughter, and his wife, and this guy is being a jackass in front of his family.
Imho Chris Cuomo has zero to apologize for. He deserves the apology. https://t.co/VnyMNgz14U
— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) August 13, 2019
