Cuomo's Suspension Means More Anderson Cooper for CNN Viewers
Out anchor Anderson Cooper will be stepping up to fill in for Chris Cuomo during the latter's suspension from CNN, Variety reported.
Cooper himself announced that an additional hour of his regular program, "Anderson Cooper 360," would follow the show's usual airing on Nov. 30, Deadline reported.
Variety detailed that Cooper "will co-host a new CNN 'town hall' devoted to news about coronavirus Tuesday evening in the 9 p.m. slot typically anchored by Chris Cuomo, and is likely to fill in for that hour for the rest of the week, according to a person familiar with the matter."
Variety added: "Future programming for the part of the CNN schedule normally reserved for 'Cuomo Prime Time' is still being formulated," according to the same source.
CNN suspended Chris Cuomo on Nov. 30, "saying that material released by New York's attorney general shows that he played a greater role than previously acknowledged" in helping Andrew Cuomo as the latter tried to overcome charges of sexual harassment, the Associated Press reported.
"Transcripts of emails and Chris Cuomo's testimony before state investigators revealed that he strategized regularly with the governor's aides, and tried to help them learn what other journalists were reporting about harassment allegations," the AP account detailed.
Those documents also indicated that Chris Cuomo "pressed sources for information on his brother's accusers and reported back to the governor's staff, and was active in helping craft their response to the charges," the AP reported in a separate article.
"As a result, we have suspended Chris indefinitely, pending further evaluation," a CNN spokesperson announced.
"I understand why some people feel the way they do about what I did," Chris Cuomo said on XM Satellite Radio, Variety reported. "The last thing I ever wanted to do was compromise any of my colleagues and do anything but help," Cuomo added.