Chris Cuomo Quits SiriusXM Radio Show After CNN Firing

Chris Cuomo
AP Photo/Kevin Hagen
Joshua Caplan

Chris Cuomo announced Monday that he will no longer host his SiriusXM radio program following his bombshell termination from CNN.

“The way my time ended at CNN was hard,” Cuomo began in a statement shared to social media. “While I have a thick skin, I also have a family, for whom the past week has been extraordinarily difficult. So, right now, I have to take a step back and focus on what comes next.” That means I will no longer be doing my SiriusXM radio show.”

“I am extremely grateful for the support I have received from SiriusXM throughout my time there. I also want to express my sincere appreciation for my loyal listeners. I will miss our conversations a great deal – but I look forward to being back in touch with you all in the future,” the befallen media figure concluded.

SiriusXM issued a separate statement on the matter: “Following Chris Cuomo’s statement that he is leaving his SiriusXM show, Let’s Get After It will no longer air. We thank Chris for his work at SiriusXM.”

The development comes after CNN announced Saturday that it has fired Cuomo following an investigation into his campaign to assist in the defence of his brother, disgraced former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), who resigned in August over sexual harassment and misconduct allegations from former and current staff members. The fired CNN host is said to have a sexual misconduct allegation against him, which may have contributed to his termination, an attorney representing his accuser said.

“Hearing the hypocrisy of Chris Cuomo’s on-air words and disgusted by his efforts to try to discredit these women, my client retained counsel to report his serious sexual misconduct against her to CNN,” lawyer Debra Katz said in a statement. “My client came forward at this time because she felt in sharing her story and related documentation, she could help protect other women.”

The network suspended Cuomo indefinitely on Tuesday but issued a statement Saturday evening that he had been terminated “effective immediately” after a law firm it kept on retainer conducted a review.
“While in the process of that review, additional information has come to light,” CNN said. “Despite the termination, we will investigate as appropriate.”

Chris Cuomo thanked his coworkers and staff in a statement shared to Twitter following the news.

 “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,” he wrote. “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.”

CNN initially said it “appreciated the unique position” Chris Cuomo was in and “understood his need to put family first and job second” when he admitted he broke the network’s rules in aiding his brother’s defense.

However, the network moved to suspend him after New York Attorney General Letitia James released new documents including text messages between Chris Cuomo and Melissa DeRosa, a top aide to his brother in which he said he would use his “sources” in news media to alert his brother’s team of stories featuring new accusations.

The UPI contributed to this report. 

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