I’m an imperfect man, and as a result, I have the belief that fighting solves a lot of problems. CNN anchor Chris Cuomo apparently shares that belief, and he followed through on a man who apparently cast an ethnic slur his way at a venue in New York, as evidenced by a video tape shared by TMZ.
The video starts out with the man telling Cuomo that he thought his name was “Fredo,” a character in the Godfather who is weak-minded and a traitor.
They use [Fredo] as an Italian aspersion,” Cuomo says to the man, as well as others who were off camera. “Are any of you Italian? … It’s a f***ing insult to your people.” The CNN anchor also pointed out that right-wingers use the slur against him.
As Cuomo continued to address the people who were off camera, the man decided to push his luck.
“You’re a much more reasonable guy in person than you seem to be on television,” the man said sarcastically.
That’s when Cuomo took things to level 10.
“Yeah, but if you want to play, we can f***ing play,” Cuomo said looking straight at the man while his Queens accent became more and more apparent.
Realizing that Cuomo was serious, the man said that he didn’t want any problems.
“You’re gonna have a big f***ing problem,” Cuomo fired back.
As the video goes on, Cuomo only becomes more heated and seems intent on escalating the situation.
“I’ll f***ing ruin you,” he tells the man. “I’ll f***ing throw you down these stairs.”
Comments on the video were mixed, but there were a few people who weren’t necessarily fans of Cuomo saying they gained newfound respect for him.
“Not a fan of his show on CNN. However, Chris went up major points in my book,” one commenter wrote. “That guy knew what he said and Chris who found it insulting put him in his place. Respect.”
“Hate CNN but Cuomo was in the right here,” wrote another. “Good for him for sticking up for himself.”
Speaking to TMZ, a CNN spokesperson said that the network fully supports how Cuomo handled the situation.
“Chris defended himself when he was verbally attacked with the use of an ethnic slur in an orchestrated setup,” the spokesperson said. “We completely support him.”
Watch the video below:
Featured image via screen grab
