CNN’s Chris Cuomo Remains Silent on Sexual Misconduct Allegations

CNN host Chris Cuomo was seen by paparazzi for the first time since he was accused by his former boss Shelley Ross of sexual harassment in a letter published in the New York Times, reports Radar Online. Following accusations that the CNN host attempted to cover up his brother Andrew Cuomo’s sexual harassment allegations, Cuomo didn’t take any time from his schedule to speak with the paps as he hopped out of his Tesla in The Hamptons to run and catch his flight back to New York City to host his primetime show. 

His wife was spotted earlier in the day in the driveway of their home. She told cameras that she had just come in from the city for a funeral. Cuomo chose not to acknowledge the allegations during Friday’s episode of his show. 

In her opinion piece for the Times, the former executive producer at ABC and CBS detailed an incident where she claims Cuomo was inappropriate with her at an office farewell party 16 years ago. She says he grabbed her butt after he gave her a “bear hug” while they were near her husband. 

 “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,” she confessed. She then clarified that while his actions were a “form of sexual harassment” and a “hostile act,” she didn’t believe it was done to be “sexual in nature.” “I never thought that Mr. Cuomo’s behavior was sexual in nature,” she explained. “Whether he understood it at the time or not, his form of sexual harassment was a hostile act meant to diminish and belittle his female former boss in front of the staff.”

Cuomo responded with a message to the Times. “As Shelley acknowledges, our interaction was not sexual in nature. It happened 16 years ago in a public setting when she was a top executive at ABC,” he said. “I apologized to her then, and I meant it.” CNN has also not commented on the situation as of yet.