Chris Cuomo finally addressed his role in the sexual harassment scandal that ultimately ended his brother Andrew’s tenure as New York governor, telling viewers Monday night that he had in fact urged his brother to resign.
“I did urge my brother to resign when the time came,” Chris said near the end of “Cuomo Prime Time.” “Its never easy being in this business and coming from a political family, especially now. This situation is unlike anything I could have imagined.”
The CNN host of “Cuomo Prime Time” may also have been thinking about recent reports that the show was “hemorrhaging” female viewers when he thanked those who continued to watch his show for their “support” and said he hopes there will be some “good” that comes out of the scandal surrounding his family.
Andrew Cuomo resigned as governor of New York Aug. 10, following an independent investigation that concluded he sexually harassed several women — he’s been accused of harassment by 11 women. Even though he’s resigned, Andrew Cuomo still faces criminal investigations by the Westchester and Manhattan County District Attorneys.
“There are a lot of people feeling a lot of hurt and a lot of pain right now and my hope is that ultimately everyone involved can get to a better place, that some higher good will be served in all of this,” Cuomo also said.
Chris Cuomo also briefly responded to the criticisms (both inside and outside CNN) he’s faced over the last few weeks, reiterating that he’s made a point not to discuss his brother’s sexual harassment allegations and ongoing legal investigations.
Chris also took a brief leave of absence from the show last week, part of his typical end-of-summer hiatus. Back from break today, the CNN anchor had the following to say about his brother’s resignation. Check out the full statement below:
There’s one more thing I do want to say about me, my brother, my family and you. First, thank you, thank you for reaching out. I appreciate the concern and support, I really do.
As you know my brother resigned as governor of New York, he’s stepping down next week. There are a lot of people feeling a lot of hurt and a lot of pain right now and my hope is that ultimately everyone involved can get to a better place, that some higher good will be served in all of this.
As for me, I’ve told you it’s never easy being in this business and coming from a political family, especially now. This situation is unlike anything I could have imagined. And yet, I know what matters at work and at home.
You should also know I never covered my brother’s troubles because I obviously have a conflict, and there are rules at CNN about that. I said last year that his appearances on this show would be short-lived, and they were. The last was over a year ago, long before any kind of scandal. I also said back then that a day would come when he would have to be held to account and I can’t do that. I said point blank, I can’t be objective when it comes to my family, so I never reported on the scandal and when it happened, I tried to be there for my brother.
I’m not an adviser, I’m a brother. I wasn’t in control of anything, I was there to listen and offer my take — and my advice to my brother was simple and consistent: own what you did, tell people what you’ll do to be better, be contrite and finally, accept that it doesn’t matter what you intended, what matters is how your actions and words were perceived.
I never misled anyone about the information I was delivering or not delivering on this program. I never attacked nor encouraged anyone to attack any woman who came forward. I never made calls to the press about my brother’s situation. I never influenced or attempted to control CNN’s coverage of my family. And as you know, back in May when I was told to no longer communicate with my brother’s aides in any group meetings, I acknowledged it was a mistake, I apologized to my colleagues, I stopped, and I meant it. It was a unique situation being a brother to a politician in a scandal and being part of the media. I tried to do the right thing, and I just want you all to know that.
Watch part of the segment from Cuomo’s Monday night show below:
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