Chris Cuomo addresses CNN viewers on brother’s scandal: ‘I can’t be objective when it comes to my family’

‘I did advise my brother to resign when the time came,’ Chris Cuomo said on air

CNN anchor Chris Cuomo has finally broken his silence over the sexual harassment scandal surrounding his brother Andrew Cuomo, saying he had urged him to resign from his position as New York governor.

Returning from a vacation to host a show on Monday night, the New York Democrat’s younger brother addressed Mr Cuomo’s resignation after a report by the state’s attorney general Letitia James found the allegations by a dozen women against him to be credible.

“I can’t be objective when it comes to my family, so I never reported on the scandal,” the CNN host said during the end of the show. “And when it happened, I tried to be there for my brother,” Mr Cuomo added.

Media reports have earlier said Chris Cuomo was an “adviser” to his brother. A report in The Washington Post said Chris Cuomo was involved in strategy calls with some of his brother’s advisers when the harassment allegations surfaced, after which CNN termed this to be inappropriate, reported the Associated Press.

“I’m not an adviser. I’m a brother. I wasn’t in control of anything. I was there to listen and offer my take. And my advice to my brother was simple and consistent. Own what you did. Tell people what you’ll do to be better. Be contrite. And finally, accept that it doesn’t matter what you intended. What matters is how your actions and words were perceived,” he explained.

He said the network’s rule prevented him from covering the news about his brother and defended himself saying he has never misled anyone.

The CNN host faced criticism for not addressing the scandal and his response to the allegations that surfaced earlier this year against his brother.

“I did advise my brother to resign when the time came,” he said on air, something that apparently came after Ms James’s report.

The CNN host also invited the governor on his show during the Covid pandemic during which the two joked and poked fun at each other.

But on Monday, Chris Cuomo said his brother’s appearances on the show were “short lived”, something he had said earlier last year. “And they were. The last was over a year ago, long before any kind of scandal.”

He said he advised the New York governor to resign, something he said he “never imagined having to do”.