On Saturday, December 4th, star television host and celebrity Chris Cuomo got fired from CNN. The main cause of the sudden dismissal was because the New York State attorney general released news about Cuomo’s extensive efforts to help cover up the many scandal allegations that were being held against his brother, Andrew Cuomo, the former governor of New York. Additionally, Chris Cuomo has also been accused of sexual harassment by a client of attorney Debra Katz. However, it is not fully clear what role this allegation placed in CNN’s decision.

Throughout his career, Chris Cuomo has been featured on many shows, such as Cuomo Prime Time, Inside Evil with Chris Cuomo, and Good Morning America. Out of the countless shows he’s been on, his own Cuomo Prime Time has been the highlight of his career. The show has aired on CNN and CNN international from 2017 to 2021. Despite being the centerpiece of these shows himself, he will be the only one to lose his job. Michael Smerconish, Cuomo’s usual substitute, will replace Cuomo as host. 

On the evening of his firing, Chris Cuomo said “This is not how I want my time at CNN to end but I have already told you why and how I helped my brother. So let me now say as disappointing as this is, I could not be more proud of the team at Cuomo Prime Time and the work we did as CNN’s #1 show in the most competitive time slot. I owe them all and will miss that group of special people who did really important work.” 

Cuomo was put in multiple tough situations as a journalist as his brother was accused of many crimes and scandals, such as underreporting Covid-19 hospitalizations and sexually assaulting 11 women. Chris Cuomo allegedly chose to help his own brother over the moral obligations that come with being a journalist. After Chris Cuomo was believed to be lying, CNN first suspended him on November 30th and then fired him on December 4th.

“Based on the report we received regarding Chris’s conduct with his brother’s defense, we had cause to terminate. When new allegations came to us this week, we took them seriously, and saw no reason to delay taking immediate action,” said a spokesperson from CNN.

Students and faculty from GNN had similar opinions on the matter. “It’s up to the network to fire him. What he did was unethical. After all, he’s a journalist” said Mr. Lesch. Sophomore Romina Ozari illustrated, “It was against the law, but what he did was wrong. He shouldn’t be spreading fake news”. The GNNHS community prioritizes honesty and integrity among all those within it. Therefore, it’s no surprise people disapprove of Chris Cuomo’s alleged lying and misconduct.