Chris Cuomo Accused of Harassment Following Brother’s Downfall

(Bloomberg) -- Following the downfall of former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, his younger brother and confidant, CNN prime-time host Chris Cuomo, has been accused of sexually harassing his former boss in 2005.

Shelley Ross, a journalist who used to be Cuomo’s producer at ABC News, accused him of touching her inappropriately at a going-away party for a colleague in New York. After bear-hugging her and squeezing her buttock, Cuomo told Ross he could “do this now that you’re no longer my boss,” she said Friday in an op-ed essay for the New York Times.

Following the episode, Ross said, Cuomo apologized over email, noting actor Christian Slater had been arrested for a “(kind of) similar act.” In the email, an image of which appears with the Times essay, the journalist first apologized to Ross’s husband, who she said was present, and then to her.

“Given Mr. Cuomo’s role as a supporter of and counselor to his brother, I am left again wondering about his relationship with truth and accountability,” Ross wrote.

Representatives for AT&T Inc.’s CNN and Walt Disney Co.’s ABC didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Cuomo’s brother, who followed their father Mario Cuomo’s footsteps to become governor of New York, resigned in August in the wake of multiple sexual-harassment allegations. Following his brother leaving office, Chris Cuomo said during his CNN show that he had urged the politician to step down, saying that he hoped that “ultimately everyone involved can get to a better place.”

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