CNN anchor Anderson Cooper ended his show Tuesday by reading the network’s statement announcing Chris Cuomo’s suspension and revealing he would stay on the air for another hour.
The programming shift was meant to cover the space normally reserved for Cuomo Prime Time in the 9 p.m. time slot after CNN said it was suspending Cuomo indefinitely while an investigation examines documents released this week by the New York attorney general.
CNN HOST CHRIS CUOMO USED HIS SOURCES TO SCOPE OUT BROTHER’S ACCUSERS
“Some news now about this network and involves Chris Cuomo, the host of Cuomo Prime Time. New documents released this week indicated that Chris was more intimately involved than previously known in helping his brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, craft a defense amid a flurry of sexual misconduct allegations,” Anderson said before reading CNN’s statement on air.
He made the announcement in ending a segment of Anderson Cooper 360 with key Watergate figure John Dean and CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin, who was on set. Toobin returned to the network in June, eight months after being suspended for exposing himself to his co-workers at New Yorker magazine on a Zoom call.
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A report from CNN said the Prime Time team was planning to do a show Tuesday right up until the announcement of the host’s suspension, citing a person familiar with the matter.
The report continued, “Cooper’s team was also blindsided by the news and left scrambling to fill the extra hour,” and after the news was made public, “an emotional Chris Cuomo met with the show’s staff.”
Sean Hannity, who hosts a show on Fox News in the same time slot, ended his program saying he believes Chris Cuomo “totally mishandled the mess with his brother” while also noting that the CNN host offering help to his sibling was “probably not the worst offense, and he probably was lied to himself.”
