Fire Chris Cuomo
After all of the irresponsibility of Chris Cuomo and CNN's support of his career, it is time for responsibility.
Chris Cuomo is in trouble once again, this time as the perpetrator of a confirmed incident of sexual harassment. In a guest piece to The New York Times, Cuomo’s former boss at ABC, Shelley Ross, revealed that the CNN host grabbed her rear without her consent, saying, “I can do this now that you’re no longer my boss….” The obvious arrogance and predatory undertones aside, Ross provides evidence of Cuomo’s undeniable guilt, pointing to an email that Cuomo sent her apologizing, in part, because Ross’ husband saw it. There is no denying this. Cuomo must be fired.
While the events are not unusual compared to other examples of sexual harassment, Cuomo’s behavior is part of something larger. They are part of a larger pattern of irresponsibility and self-indulgence that assumes that the perpetrator is entitled to the deference that the victim is not supposed to receive.
Despite helping a certain New York governor defend himself from his sexual harassment allegations, CNN has taken no action against their host. Save for recusal from covering the governor scandal, Cuomo has not faced the consequences for his obvious breach of journalistic integrity. He was not relieved of his position. Nor was he asked to apologize for his failings. Instead, CNN expected the public to move on with their day. That’s bull.
As I noted on my last podcast, the fight against sexual harassment is a fight against violation against the most basic principle that humanity has ever created: ‘keep your hands to yourself.’
The fact that Chris Cuomo may be able to keep his job despite clearly violating the consent of his former boss and violating his journalistic duty is indicative of CNN’s values. But more than that, it is indicative of our failure as a country to take the continued sexual harassment of our fellow Americans as a source of news rather than an issue for concern and change. If there is to be any justice, then Chris Cuomo should be fired.