CNN anchor Chris Cuomo publicly commented Tuesday morning on a viral video that showed him getting into an explosive argument with a heckler who called him “Fredo.”

During the ugly altercation at a New York bar, Cuomo claimed that “punk-ass bitches from the right call me Fredo” while claiming that the name was just “like the N-word” for Italians. He also, at one point, threatened to throw the heckler down some stairs “like a fucking punk.” Reacting to the video on Monday evening, a CNN spokesperson said: “Chris Cuomo defended himself when he was verbally attacked with the use of an ethnic slur in an orchestrated setup. We completely support him.”

“Appreciate all the support but - truth is I should be better than the guys baiting me,” Cuomo tweeted Tuesday morning. “This happens all the time these days. Often in front of my family. But there is a lesson: no need to add to the ugliness; I should be better than what I oppose.”