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Women's group to CNN: Suspend Chris Cuomo for advising NY gov brother on sexual harassment claims
Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for CNN

Women's group to CNN: Suspend Chris Cuomo for advising NY gov brother on sexual harassment claims

UltraViolet says 'anything less is unacceptable'

A women's group has issued a scathing response after CNN admitted anchor Chris Cuomo joined calls advising his brother, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), on how to respond to a barrage of sexual harassment claims against the Democrat.

Feminist organization Ultraviolet called on the network to suspend the anchor immediately, arguing, "This was a major network news anchor advising the Governor of New York to actively push back against sexual harassment allegations and denegrate (sic) survivors."

What are the details?

On Thursday, The Washington Post reported that four sources say Chris Cuomo "joined a series of conference calls that included the Democratic governor, his top aide, his communications team, lawyers and a number of outside advisers" regarding the handling of several sexual harassment claims against the governor earlier this year.

The newspaper reported:

The cable news anchor encouraged his brother to take a defiant position and not to resign from the governor's office, the people said. At one point, he used the phrase "cancel culture" as a reason to hold firm in the face of the allegations, two people present on one call said.

CNN admitted that Chris was part of the strategy calls, saying in a statement, "Chris has not been involved in CNN's extensive coverage of the allegations against Governor Cuomo — on air or behind the scenes. In part, because, as he has said on his show, he could never be objective. But also because he often serves as a sounding board for his brother."

"However," CNN continued, "it was inappropriate to engage in conversations that included members of the Governor's staff, which Chris acknowledges. He will not participate in such conversations going forward."

What did the women's group say?

Not good enough, Ultraviolet says.

"Make no mistake - this wasn't just a brother talking to his brother about their lives, or even politics," the women's group wrote in reaction to the Post's story. "This was a major network news anchor advising the Governor of New York to actively push back against sexual harassment allegations and denegrate (sic) survivors of abuse by defining their calls for accountability as 'cancel culture.'"

The statement continues, "The fact that after this advice, Governor Cuomo instructed surrogates to attack and defame those who courageously came forward with their stories should not be lost on anyone."

Ultraviolet concludes:

"CNN should immediately suspend Chris Cuomo and conduct a thorough investigation into whether or not his position of authority at the network has impacted how others covered the allegations against his brother, Governor Cuomo. Anything less is unacceptable, and further harms survivors of sexual abuse, who are already disinclined to come forward for fear of retaliation from men in power like the Cuomo brothers."

Anything else?

CNN did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment on UltraViolet's statement.

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