Report: Chris Cuomo Plans to Sue CNN for at Least $18 Million If Network Fails to Pay Remainder of Contract
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Chris Cuomo and CNN have been lawyering up following the former’s ouster over the weekend from the network, according to a report from Puck News.
The media startup tweeted on Monday, “BREAKING: Chris Cuomo and CNN have lawyered up over his firing, reports @MattBelloni. Cuomo has hired litigator Bryan Freedman, who handled Megyn Kelly’s NBC exit, and CNN is working with WarnerMedia litigator Daniel Petrocelli.”
BREAKING: Chris Cuomo and CNN have lawyered up over his firing, reports @MattBelloni. Cuomo has hired litigator Bryan Freedman, who handled Megyn Kelly’s NBC exit, and CNN is working with WarnerMedia litigator Daniel Petrocelli.
— Puck (@PuckNews) December 7, 2021
Belloni is the founding partner of Puck.
The New York Post reported on Monday that Cuomo will sue CNN if the network does not pay the remaining $18 million to $20 million he is allegedly owed in his contract by the outlet. According to sources, CNN does not plan to pay Cuomo any of it.
Cuomo was fired on Saturday following more than eight years at CNN following reports that Cuomo was heavily involved in advising his brother, then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, navigate allegations of sexual harassment against current and former state employees. Andrew Cuomo resigned in August. Earlier this year, Chris Cuomo said that he was advising his brother as a sibling, but was not transparent in how involved he was.
Last week, CNN was reportedly alerted to an allegation of sexual harassment against Chris.
Lawyer Debra Katz contacted CNN on Dec. 1 to claim a sexual harassment allegation against Chris Cuomo, according to The New York Times. Katz, who represents former Andrew Cuomo aide Charlotte Bennett, told the Times the allegation against Chris Cuomo was “unrelated to the Gov. Andrew Cuomo matter.”
The sexual harassment allegation against the CNN host reportedly led to his firing.
“Based on the report we received regarding Chris’s conduct with his brother’s defense, we had cause to terminate,” a CNN spokesperson told The Times on Saturday. “When new allegations came to us this week, we took them seriously, and saw no reason to delay taking immediate action.”
