After CNN anchor Chris Cuomo made headlines this week for threatening a man who called him “Fredo,” a reference to the Godfather films, he’s speaking out about the incident. Cuomo thanked all those supporting him in the controversy and admitted he needs to “be better than the guys baiting me.”
“Appreciate all the support but — truth is I should be better than the guys baiting me. This happens all the time these days,” he tweeted on Tuesday. “Often in front of my family. But there is a lesson: no need to add to the ugliness; I should be better than what I oppose.”
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In the video, which appeared Monday on a conservative YouTube channel, Cuomo can be seen in a profanity-laced reaction as he characterizes the comment as an anti-Italian slur. The YouTube channel host, Brandon Recor, told The Washington Post that the exchange happened Sunday at a bar in Shelter Island, New York, after a man approached Cuomo for a photo. The man made the video and said that he thought Fredo was Cuomo’s name.
“I’ll f—ing ruin your s—,” Cuomo says to the man in the video. “I’ll f—ing through you down these stairs like a f—ing punk.” He also said that calling him Fredo is the N-word for Italians.
CNN said it completely supports the 49-year-old after he was seen threatening to push the man down some stairs. CNN spokesman Matt Dornic tweeted that Cuomo “defended himself” after being slurred in what Dornic calls an “orchestrated setup.”
President Donald Trump added his voice to the fray, tweeting, “I thought Chris was Fredo also. The truth hurts. Totally lost it! Low ratings [CNN].”
But some conservatives, including high pro-file figures like Fox News host Sean Hannity and Trump’s former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, disagreed with Trump about the situation.
“I say good for [Chris Cuomo],” Hannity tweeted. “He’s out with his 9 year old daughter, and his wife, and this guy is being a jackass in front of his family. [In my honest opinion] Chris Cuomo has zero to apologize for. He deserves the apology.”
Lewandowski said Cuomo “has every right to defend himself and his family.”
Too many of us have seen this happen when we are out with out famIiies. If this continues someone is going to get hurt. Have some respect. @ChrisCuomo has every right to defend himself and his family. https://t.co/UD6g3hy9Mo
— Corey R. Lewandowski (@CLewandowski_) August 13, 2019
Still others disagreed with Cuomo’s sentiment that Fredo is like the Italian N-word. “I watch Chris Cuomo,” but the words aren’t comparable,” tweeted former NFL player and current analyst Shannon Sharpe.
Photo credit: Michael Loccisano / Staff / Getty
