The Chris Cuomo Controversy Is Worse Than We Originally Thought

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was forced to resign under the cloud of his sexual harassment scandal. But now, his brother Chris Cuomo is facing sexual harassment allegations, too ... and the situation is worse than originally thought. On September 24, Chris' former boss Shelley Ross, penned an op-ed in The New York Times, calling him out for sexual harassment in 2005.

In her brutal Times piece, Ross accused the CNN anchor of grabbing her buttocks at a work gathering in front of her husband and co-workers. Ross said Chris "greeted me with a strong bear hug while lowering one hand to firmly grab and squeeze the cheek of my buttock" when she saw him at an event for one of their former ABC News co-workers. According to Ross, Chris greeted her, saying, "I can do this now that you're no longer my boss." Ross responded, "No you can't," while "pushing him off me at the chest while stepping back, revealing my husband, who had seen the entire episode at close range. We quickly left." Ross wrote that the CNN anchor emailed her an hour later to apologize.

According to People, Ross described the incident as a "hostile act meant to diminish and belittle his female former boss in front of the staff." Chris denied the interaction 16 years ago was "sexual in nature." However, according to the latest headlines, the controversy surrounding the CNN anchor seems to be getting worse. Keep reading to find out more.

The scandal surrounding CNN anchor Chris Cuomo seems to be going from bad to worse. Page Six reported that Melanie Buck, a former "Cuomo Prime Time" executive producer, "begged" to leave Cuomo's show and Buck "felt threatened" by Cuomo. According to the outlet, Buck was the show's executive producer for two years but left the show just before Cuomo returned to the studio after his much-publicized COVID-19 quarantine in 2020.

Buck told Page Six in a statement via CNN, "I spent two years as EP on Chris' show and I'm proud to have led it to #1 at CNN. We ultimately had significant differences, and I asked to leave the show. I have moved on and am looking forward to my latest role with CNN+." Buck moved from Cuomo's show to covering the 2020 presidential campaign and is now working for the news network's streaming service, which launches in 2022.

A CNN source confirmed to Page Six that Buck asked CNN chief Jeff Zucker to take her off Cuomo's show and moved to another job. Page Six revealed that multiple sources confirmed Buck "felt threatened" by Cuomo. Fox News reported that a former CNN insider said rumors flew about Buck and Cuomo's tense relationship. The source told Fox News that Buck perceived a "ruin your career type of threat" from Cuomo.

CNN appears to be standing by Chris Cuomo through this controversy. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Cuomo did not address the allegations made by former boss Shelley Ross on-air. But the CNN anchor did respond to The New York Times op-ed in a statement: "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. I apologized to her then, and I meant it."

CNN has stood by Cuomo frequently in the last few months. The cable news network supported the "Cuomo Prime Time" star after news broke that Cuomo had been advising his brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, on how to handle the allegations of sexual harassment against him. Some called for the CNN anchor to be fired or resign after helping his brother. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Chris apologized for advising Andrew, saying, "It was a mistake, because I put my colleagues here, who I believe are the best in the business, in a bad spot. I never intended for that, I would never intend for that, and I'm sorry for that."