Sacked CNN star host ‘molested colleague

News broadcaster’s sex assault scandal widens amid claim Chris Cuomo assaulted female in previous job.

Anchor Chris Cuomo was fired by TV network CNN amid an inquiry into his involvement to help his brother, Andrew M. Cuomo, then the governor of New York, fight off a sexual harassment scandal. Picture: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for WarnerMedia

CNN, the news broadcaster, was engulfed in a sex assault scandal on Wednesday when it emerged that it had fired the presenter Chris Cuomo after discovering that he had been accused of assaulting a female colleague in a previous job.

Cuomo, 51, had been suspended from CNN in December amid claims that he tried to help his brother, the former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, fight the sexual harassment claims that led to his downfall.

The New York Times said Jeff Zucker, the former CNN chief, sacked Cuomo after he learnt of allegations the presenter had attacked a woman at ABC News in 2011. The article adds to the growing crisis at CNN.

Zucker resigned as president of CNN Worldwide this month after admitting to a relationship with Allison Gollust, a senior executive. These details became public during the inquiry into Cuomo.

Gollust followed Zucker out of the door on Tuesday. She accused CNN’s parent company, WarnerMedia, of having undermined her.

The New York Times report said that Chris Cuomo’s alleged victim had approached CNN when he was suspended last year. He is said to have invited the temporary worker to lunch in his office while he was at ABC. She claimed Cuomo assaulted her after she rejected his propositions. He has denied the allegations.

Debra S Katz, 63, a leading sexual harassment lawyer, is believed to have said Cuomo contacted her client during the MeToo scandal. He tried to gain her silence by arranging a piece about the PR company where she was working.

Katz was reported to have told CNN her client “suspected he (Cuomo) was concerned about her coming forward publicly”.

The Times