Godfather actor says Chris Cuomo’s late father would have ‘smacked him’ over viral Fredo rant as the CNN host’s governor brother Andrew defends him and pans the movie as ‘anti-Italian’
- Gianni Russo played Vito Corleone’s son-in-law Carlo Rizzi in the 1972 movie
- He said the anchor ‘made a fool of himself’ after the cellphone footage went viral
- ‘I couldn’t understand, because he’s such an intelligent kid, educated’, he said
- Chris’ brother said the movie is ‘anti-Italian’ and their father ‘would not watch it’
- The CNN host threatened to beat a heckler who used the term Fredo in the clip
- Fredo Corleone was the dimwitted and disloyal brother in The Godfather
An actor who starred in The Godfather has claimed Chris Cuomo’s late father would have ‘smacked him’ over his viral Fredo rant in which the CNN host threatened to beat a heckler who used the term.
Gianni Russo, who played Vito Corleone’s son-in-law Carlo Rizzi in the 1972 film, said the anchor ‘made a fool of himself’ in the cellphone footage which showed him claim the name is ‘like the N-word for Italians’.
Fredo Corleone was the dimwitted and disloyal older brother of Michael, the central character in The Godfather.
Russo, who said he is a friend of the family and was at the event where the row broke out, told TMZ: ‘I can’t believe that he would say that. His father would smack him.
‘I couldn’t understand, because he’s such an intelligent kid, educated and everything else. I heard he’s hurt his career.
‘All these news guys, they’re so opinionated. They’re supposed to report the news. It’s not about what you think. And you’re taking Fredo, a character from a classic? It’s like spitting on the Mona Lisa.’
Godfather actor Gianni Russo, left, has claimed Chris Cuomo’s late father would have ‘smacked him’ over viral Fredo rant. The CNN host, right, threatened to beat a heckler who used the term
Gianni Russo played Vito Corleone’s son-in-law Carlo Rizzi in the 1972 film. He is pictured during a wedding scene with Marlon Brando as Corleone and John Cazale as Fredo above
But the CNN reporter’s governor brother Andrew defended his sibling’s rant, panning the movie as ‘anti-Italian’ and saying their father, the late former Gov. Mario Cuomo, ‘would not watch it’.
Andrew told WAMC radio: ‘I can’t tell you how many times people have come up to me and said, “In The Godfather who are you, which one are you, which character are you?”
‘When you repeat the negative stereotypes, you are repeating the discrimination,” Cuomo said. “I had a battle with ‘The Sopranos,’ which was the same stereotype over and over and over, the Italian thug, the Italian Mafia.
‘I have seen parts of it. My father wouldn’t watch the movie because it was anti-Italian.’
After the video emerged, CNN responded in support of their star TV anchor, saying in a statement: ‘Chris Cuomo defended himself when he was verbally attacked with the use of an ethnic slur in an orchestrated setup. We completely support him.’
The CNN reporter’s governor brother Andrew defended his sibling’s rant, panning the movie as ‘anti-Italian’ and saying their father, the late former Gov. Mario Cuomo, ‘would not watch it’. Andrew, left, is pictured with Chris, right, in 2018
Andrew Cuomo pictured with his father Mario Coumo, former Governor of New York. Russo said Mario would have have ‘smacked’ his son Chris over his viral Fredo rant
Donald Trump’s re-election campaign pounced on the video scandal, and even introduced a t-shirt for sale on that mocks the CNN anchor.
The t-shirt, available for $34.00, carries the words ‘FREDO UNHINGED’ and still images from the video.
Cuomo tweeted that he should have been calmer in his self-defense.
‘I should be better than the guys baiting me,’ he wrote. ‘This happens all the time these days. Often in front of my family. But there is a lesson: no need to add to the ugliness; I should be better than what I oppose.’