Chris Cuomo claims his public bromance with a former CNN star was just for show, and that the pair secretly loathed each other behind the scenes.
Don Lemon and Cuomo would regularly proclaim their love for one another on-air as Cuomo would hand-off to Lemon. The pair later extended their bond by hosting the popular Handoff podcast and even going on tour together.
But during an appearance with Patrick Bet David on the PBD Podcast, Cuomo tore into his former colleague for an alleged lack of loyalty when he was fired by CNN for advising his brother Andrew Cuomo, the former governor of New York, during a sexual harassment scandal in 2021.
ADVERTISEMENT
Cuomo claimed Lemon didn’t have his back during the scandal and never reached out following his termination, and the pair have never spoken since.
“He should have asked me what was going on… heard my side,” the former anchor said at the time.
When asked if he would appear with Lemon on a podcast again, Cuomo said: “Why would I do it?”
“You think he’s going to apologize to me? I am a loyalty guy… that’s the end of the analysis for me… You’re ride or die, or you’re not.”
Furthermore, Cuomo alleged that Lemon’s career at CNN was artificially boosted by his friendship with Jeff Zucker, the former head of the network.
“Zucker’s best friend is Don Lemon’s best friend—who’s his agent—so, they had a real bond,” he said.
According to Cuomo, Zucker encouraged them to banter on-air after claiming it was good for ratings, and said the pair’s nightly handovers were a way to keep Lemon on-script.
“You’ve gotta stay over on his show to help mitigate whatever’s going to come out of his mouth,” Zucker allegedly told Cuomo, which show insiders have rubbished as “absurd.”
“Everyone knows that the toss was the brainchild of Jeff Zucker. The rest of this is absurd and a naked play for attention by Chris Cuomo,” a source told Page Six.
Another source told the publication: “If Chris’ lips are moving, he’s lying.”
Zucker and Lemon were both eventually ousted from CNN themselves after the network sought to steady the ship after a period of declining ratings, with Lemon now hosting his own eponymous YouTube show. Cuomo said he doesn’t find what Lemon’s saying “particularly interesting.”
Cuomo is currently suing CNN for $100 million over his dismissal, and has accused colleagues of running a smear campaign against him.
“Don Lemon, another CNN anchor, falsely claimed that Cuomo had been ‘found to break with those journalistic standards and then [was] paid handsomely for it,’” the court filing claims.
In an interview with Mediaite last year, Lemon touched on his fractious friendship with Cuomo.
“I never said we’re not friends; I just haven’t spoken to him,” he said. “We needed a little break. But I love Chris. I love his family. Very close to his family. But we have not spoken, no.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to Lemon for comment.
