Chris Cuomo’s wife, Cristina, appeared serene in a yoga session on Instagram Live on Wednesday – the morning after news emerged that her former CNN anchor husband was accused of sexually assaulting an ABC temporary staffer in 2011.
Cristina noted in her ‘self-improving’ exercise video that she disabled comments, telling her viewers to be ‘mindful’ of ‘the power of the word.’
‘I turned off the comments because the power of the word is so strong and to be mindful of that afterwards and when you go forward in the day,’ she said in her video, which had 1,291 views as of Wednesday afternoon.
‘Think about how impactful your words are to other people. The ones you write and the ones you say,’ Cristina concluded as she continued her yoga routine with instructor Erika Halweil.
Meanwhile, Chris Cuomo is contending with the power his own words held after a woman says they compelled her to come forward to disclose how he allegedly invited her to his office for sex and forced himself on her when she declined.
Chris Cuomo’s wife, Cristina, appeared serene in a yoga session on Instagram Live on Wednesday – the morning after a report revealed that her husband was accused of sexually assaulting an ABC temporary staffer in 2011.
Cristina noted in her ‘self-improving’ exercise video that she disabled comments, telling her viewers to be ‘mindful’ of ‘the power of the word’
The New York Times claimed in a Tuesday report that Chris Cuomo was fired after a secret ‘assault’ allegation was made against him by a woman he used to work with at ABC News in 2011. He and Cristina are pictured above in New York City in 2014
The woman, who has not been named and is referred to as Jane Doe, had her account detailed in a New York Times report released late on Tuesday.
In December 2021, her attorney Debra Katz wrote to CNN to report the alleged assault, after Cuomo had been suspended for helping his brother, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, through his own sexual misconduct scandal.
She says she was driven to come forward after watching him declare on-air in March 2021 that he cared ‘deeply and profoundly’ about the #MeToo movement and the sexual harassment claims against his brother.
‘Before we start tonight let me say something that I’m sure is very obvious to you who watch my show. I’ll be straight with you. Obviously I’m aware of what’s going on with my brother and obviously I cannot cover it because he is my brother,’ Chris said in March 2021.
‘Now, of course CNN has to cover it. They have covered it extensively and they will continue to do so. I have always cared very deeply about these issues and profoundly so. I just wanted to tell you that,’ he said.
The woman identified as Jane Doe is not the only woman who has accused him of misconduct; Shelley Ross, a former executive at ABC, said he groped her at a 2005 party and Melanie Buck claimed that she asked to be removed from Cuomo Prime Time because she found his conduct to be threatening.
The allegations are not the only reason for his firing but according to The New York Times, contributed to the wider net of scandals that followed him and ultimately became ‘too much’ for CNN President Jeff Zucker.
The unidentified woman says she was driven to come forward after watching him declare on-air in March 2021 that he cared ‘deeply and profoundly’ about the #MeToo movement and the sexual harassment claims against his brother
In November, CNN president Jeff Zucker told Cuomo (right) they were suspending him for his involvement with helping his brother, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (left) amid the sexual harassment allegations made against the politician. The brothers are pictured at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2018.
Zucker resigned for failing to report an affair with top aide Allison Gollust, who also left the company last night. All three are accused of ‘newsroom’ ethics failures for their inappropriately close relationship with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
It was previously known that Chris had been reported for sexual misconduct but new details of the allegation emerged on Tuesday night.
According to the woman, she was working as a temporary staffer on ABC News in 2011 and was hoping for a permanent role.
Chris invited her to his office for lunch, she says. She arrived but found there was no food. He then allegedly started ‘badgering’ her for sex and when she refused him, she says he sexually assaulted her. No other details about the alleged assault have been made public. The woman said she then sent him friendly emails to try to smooth things over.
When the #MeToo movement gained momentum, she said she heard from Chris – by this time CNN’s star host. He said he wanted to run a segment on the firm where she worked.
She said she interpreted it as a veiled threat not to come forward with her own #MeToo claim. A spokesman for Cuomo denied the allegations outlined in the letter.
Chris and his wife Cristina have been married since 2001. He has always denied the allegation of sexual misconduct
Allison Gollust (left) was seen earlier this week in her Upper East Side apartment building. Jeff Zucker is shown, right, out and about in NYC. Gollust is furious about how she has had to leave the company
Zucker is said to have been hurt and ‘misled’ by Cuomo, who was helping his brother through his own scandal while also working on the network.
Zucker and Chris were close – in 2018, when Zucker was recovering from heart surgery, the pair would go for long walks in Central Park.
Late Tuesday, a spokesperson for the former CNN anchor issued a statement regarding The New York Times report and insisting that the real reason all three were fired was their involvement with Governor Cuomo.
‘It is clear this was never about an undisclosed relationship,’ according to the statement posted to Twitter by a Wall Street Journal reporter.
‘As Mr. Cuomo has stated previously, Mr. Zucker and Ms. [Allison] Gollust were not only entirely aware but fully supportive of what he was doing to help his brother.
‘The still open question is when Warner Media is going to release the results of its investigation and explain its supposed basis for terminating Mr. Cuomo.’
In November, then-CNN president Jeff Zucker told Cuomo they were suspending him for his involvement with helping his brother, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, amid the sexual harassment allegations made against the politician.
Chris Cuomo reportedly offered to resign and Zucker allegedly informed him that he might be able to return to the network at some point.
But 24 hours after Zucker suspended Cuomo, the letter from the woman’s lawyer arrived at CNN describing Cuomo’s suspension as an ‘abuse of power at CNN to attempt to silence my client,’ according to The Times.
Shelley Ross, a former executive producer of Cuomo’s Primetime Live show, previously accused him of groping her at a party in 2005
Later that week, Zucker fired Cuomo, telling him that a drumbeat of scandals had become ‘too much for us,’ according to the newspaper.
Zucker himself resigned on February 2 after revealing his romantic relationship with executive Allison Gollust.
Gollust resigned Tuesday night as CNN’s executive vice president and chief marketing officer months after an internal probe into her alleged ‘inappropriate’ relationship with Zucker.
The 49-year-old left the network following a third-party investigation into ‘issues associated with Chris Cuomo and former Governor Andrew Cuomo,’ a source confirmed to DailyMail.com.
Gollust acknowledged her exit in a bitter email to her staff claiming CNN was trying to undermine her in public: ‘WarnerMedia’s statement tonight is an attempt to retaliate against me and change the media narrative in the wake of their disastrous handling of the last two weeks.’
‘It is deeply disappointing that after spending the past nine years defending and upholding CNN’s highest standards of journalistic integrity, I would be treated this way as I leave.’
‘But I do so with my head held high, knowing I gave my heart and soul to working with the finest journalists in the world.’
‘With much love and gratitude,’ Gollust signed her goodbye message to her colleagues.
Chris Cuomo is still fighting for the $18 million he claims he is owed on the remainder of his contract, which Zucker firmly refused after the termination, arguing that he brought the network into disrepute.
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk