Chris Cuomo demands $125M from CNN, calls his firing ‘epitome of hypocrisy’

Ex-CNN anchor Chris Cuomo is demanding a staggering $125 million damages for being fired — and calls his termination “the epitome of hypocrisy” by the scandal-scarred, third-place community, in line with authorized papers filed Wednesday.

In a scorched-earth submitting with the JAMS mediation and arbitration service, Cuomo alleged that his former employer “has a long-established pattern and practice of selectively enforcing its policies based on cynical calculations of public perception.”

He additionally claimed that CNN’s behavior of constructing “exceptions” to its guidelines “began at the top” with former CNN Worldwide president Jeff Zucker and former chief advertising and marketing officer Allison Gollust, who each resigned below strain final month for failing to reveal their affair.”

As lengthy as CNN’s rankings wouldn’t be damage, Zucker and Gollust had been greater than prepared to miss main transgressions by CNN personalities corresponding to Don Lemon and Jake Tapper, and even to interact in blatant misconduct themselves,” in line with the submitting.

Those “transgressions” concerned hate-crime hoaxer Jussie Smollett’s testimony that Lemon texted him that cops didn’t consider his claims — which Lemon later denied — and Tapper’s efforts to persuade Republican Sean Parnell to not problem US Rep. Conor Lamb (D-Penn.)

Cuomo additionally mentioned CNN let chief authorized analyst Jeffrey Toobin — who was suspended for getting caught masturbating throughout a video convention with staffers on the New Yorker journal, which fired him — “return to work without even issuing a public apology” — though Toobin repeatedly mentioned he was “sorry” throughout his first look following the scandal.

“In each of the above-described incidents, CNN allowed employees to retain their jobs for offenses much more egregious than anything CNN alleges Cuomo did,” in line with the submitting.

“This is the epitome of hypocrisy, as there was no valid basis for terminating his contract.”

In a sequence of bombshell allegations, the previous “Cuomo Prime Time” host — who was fired in December for attempting to assist his brother, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, battle sexual harassment allegations — mentioned “CNN demanded through its leadership” that he repeatedly interview Andrew Cuomo through the top of the COVID-19 pandemic to attain a “ratings bonanza.”

Chris Cuomo additionally mentioned that “CNN pushed Gov. Cuomo not to appear on other networks,” implying that doing so might damage his brother’s profession, and in addition requested him to carry his standard coronavirus briefings “based on its program schedule and when its ratings were weakest.”

In addition, he mentioned, “Zucker and Gollust acted as advisors to Gov. Cuomo during this time by giving him talking points and strategies for responding to statements made by then-President Donald Trump.”

“Notably, for years, CNN did not discipline Gollust os Zucker for their egregious violations of CNN policy, including both Gollust and Zucker using their privileged access to Gov. Cuomo to secure COVID tests,” in line with the submitting.

Chris Cuomo’s submitting calls for a minimum of $15 million for termination of his contract 19 months earlier than it expired, saying he’s entitled to about $14.4 million in unpaid base wage and “at least a ratings-related bonus.”

Based on the quantity being sought, his contract paid him round $9.1 million a yr, greater than half once more as a lot as has been beforehand reported.

But the majority of the damages — a minimum of $110 million — is demanded on grounds that CNN violated the contract by “failing to instruct CNN employees not to disparage Cuomo,” resulting in widespread assaults on his ethics and popularity, “with Zucker leading the charge.”

“Cuomo has had his journalistic integrity unjustifiably smeared, making it difficult if not impossible for Cuomo to find similar work in the future,” in line with the submitting.

According to the submitting, “Zucker and Gollust were fully aware of the scope of Cuomo’s assistance to Gov. Cuomo,” and Chris Cuomo “had no reason to believe that his assistance to Gov. Cuomo was inconsistent with CNN’s” insurance policies.

In a press release, Chris Cuomo’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, mentioned  “It should by now be obvious to everyone that Chris Cuomo did not lie to CNN about helping his brother.”

“In fact, as the limited information released from WarnerMedia’s investigation makes clear, CNN’s highest-level executives not only knew about Chris’s involvement in helping his brother but also actively assisted the Governor, both through Chris and directly themselves,” he mentioned.

“As CNN has admitted, network standards were changed in a calculated decision to boost ratings. When those practices were called into question, Chris was made the scapegoat.”

CNN and its dad or mum firm, AT&T’s WarnerMedia, each declined to remark.

A spokesperson for Zucker and Gollust denied that Zucker gave Andrew Cuomo recommendation and mentioned neither had been “ever given preferential access to COVID tests. This is false.”

The rep has beforehand mentioned that Zucker “was never aware of the full extent of what Chris Cuomo was doing for his brother, which is why Chris was fired,” and that Gollust “never offered advice or counsel to Andrew Cuomo. Period.”