Andrew Cuomo: TimeWarner, Discovery afraid of ‘cancel culture’

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) defended his brother Chris Cuomo this week, attacking CNN’s parent company for firing the anchor last year and accusing its top brass of bowing to what he called “cancel culture” permeating society. 

“One manifestation of the extremism is this so-called cancel culture. Cancel culture says if you don’t agree with me and my point of view you should be canceled,” Cuomo said to a group at the New York Hispanic Clergy Organization, according to a transcript of his remarks.

“It is communicated through social media quickly and effectively and it demonizes anyone who doesn’t agree with their position,” he added, calling the phenomenon “a social death penalty.” 

“Anyone can get canceled at any time. And it happens today with frequency,” he continued. “No one is immune. Politicians certainly, but even the press is afraid of the cancel culture because their business is now also about clicks and tweets and Twitter followers. Even big shots like CNN, AT&T, Time Warner and Discovery are afraid of the cancel culture. Even billionaire media owners like John Malone, John Stankey and David Zaslav fear being canceled.” 

The former governor, who resigned in disgrace last year amid allegations of sexual misconduct, was making reference to the firing of his brother Chris Cuomo, a former prime-time anchor on CNN. Chris Cuomo was fired by former CNN President Jeff Zucker for cause late last year. Zucker said Cuomo misled the network about his contacts with his brother’s aides and journalists covering the allegations against the governor. 

Chris Cuomo was also hit with allegations of sexual misconduct, which he has denied, shortly before his firing from CNN. Zucker was forced to resign by WarnerMedia, CNN’s parent company, last month after disclosing a romantic relationship he had been having with Allison Gollust, another executive at the network. 

WarnerMedia is currently undergoing a massive merger with media conglomerate Discovery. 

On Wednesday, Chris Cuomo filed an arbitration claim seeking $125 million from CNN, saying he had been damaged “in countless ways” by the company. 

An internal investigation conducted by WarnerMedia earlier this year found violations of CNN’s News Standards and Practices by Zucker, Gollust and Cuomo, who has pressed the company to release more details about its findings. 

Andrew Cuomo, meanwhile, has spent the last several weeks huddling with top aides as he weighs a comeback to public life, according to multiple reports.