Chris Cuomo.Photo: Theo Wargo/Getty
The fallout fromChris Cuomo’s ouster from CNN continues, with the former anchor now seeking a $125 million arbitration award as part of his claim that he was wrongly terminated.
The increasingly tangled saga began Dec. 1 when CNN announced it hadsuspended theCuomo Prime Timeanchor, 51, for his involvement in defending his brother, disgraced former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who had resigned from office amid multiplesexual harassment and misconduct allegations. (The elder Cuomo denies intentionally acting inappropriately or committing any crimes.)
Chris' suspension, the network said at the time, was “pending further evaluation.”
Amid CNN’s internal inquiry, Jeff Zucker, president of CNN Worldwide, wasforced to step downin early February for failing to disclose a “consensual relationship” with a colleague, revealed to be Chief Marketing Officer Allison Gollust. Gollust alsoleft CNNas a result.
The relationship, the couple said, came up as a part of CNN’s investigation into Chris.
He claims his firing was without merit and, in a demand for arbitration filed Wednesday, argued that it constituted a breach of his employment agreement with CNN.
A network spokesperson declined to comment to PEOPLE on Chris' latest move.
“CNN even broke its own policy to take advantage of that relationship in the name of ratings and advertising dollars,” Chris says in his filing.
The demand for arbitration further contends that the network “allowed its employees to publicly slam [Chris] Cuomo even before CNN took any steps to discipline him,” specifically calling out fellow anchor Jake Tapper for his on-air criticism.
“As a direct result of CNN’s calculated efforts to tar and feather him, Cuomo is now untouchable in the world of broadcast journalism, effectively bringing his storied career to a premature end and costing him decades of earnings, exceeding $125 million in consequential damages,” his filing alleges.
In initially announcing Chris' firing, CNN said that, in the process of its review into how he may have helped his brother, “additional information [had] come to light.”
A source likewise disputed that this allegation was related to his termination. (He has not been charged with any crime.)
AsThe New York Timesreportedin February, the woman’s accusation came to light before Chris had been let go via a letter sent to a CNN lawyer last year from attorney Debra S. Katz, who said she was representing an anonymous client who had worked with Chris at ABC News.
That letter stated that the woman was a temp at ABC in 2011 but was looking for permanent employment when she accepted an invitation to have lunch with Chris, who had previously offered her career advice, according to theTimes.
Once in his office, the letter reportedly claimed, Chris assaulted the woman and she fled the office.
A spokesman for Chris disputed the woman’s account in a statement shared with PEOPLE in February. “As Mr. Cuomo has stated previously, the allegations in the anonymous letter are false,” the spokesman said at the time. “He was never asked about the allegations prior to being terminated nor given an opportunity to respond to the allegations.”
“After years without any substantive communication from Mr. Cuomo whatsoever, Ms. Doe suspected he was concerned about her coming forward publicly with her allegations and wanted to use the proposed segment as an opportunity to ‘test the waters’ and discourage her from going on the record about his sexual misconduct,” Katz reportedly wrote in the letter, according to theTimes.
The segment eventually aired on CNN.
A source familiar with what transpired, however, offered an opposing view to PEOPLE: This source said in February that the company where the woman was working had been the subject of sustained news coverage and it would have made sense for a journalist to reach out.
The source also insisted that the letter and the woman’s claims were not investigated prior to Chris being fired.
In this source’s telling, Zucker had initially indicated to Chris that he could potentially return from his suspension, and CNN anchor Brian Stelter said as much on the air.
But days after the letter was sent to the network, Chris was fired.
In its most recent court filing, Chris' legal team claims CNN “did not even attempt to investigate the veracity of the anonymous allegations against Cuomo before deciding to terminate his employment.”
The filing further claims that the network “failed to provide any explanation for the abrupt decision to terminate Cuomo in its formal termination letter, which was two sentences long. However, CNN publicly stated that ‘he was terminated for violating [CNN’s] standards and practices, as well as his lack of candor.’ "
source: people.com
