Chris Cuomo Seen For First Time Since Being Accused Of Sexual Misconduct As He Allegedly Grabbed His Ex Boss' Butt At A Party
Sept. 25 2021, Published 3:45 p.m. ET
Chris Cuomo was spotted out for the first time since he was accused of sexual misconduct by his former boss, Shelley Ross.
Paparazzi caught the journalist rushing into an airport in the Hamptons as he headed back to New York City to host his prime time show on CNN.
In the snapshots, Chris was getting out of his Tesla carrying his backpack while wearing shorts and a t-shirt.
Earlier in the day, his wife was seen on the driveway of their residence. She greeted the media before telling them that she just got back from a funeral in the city.
The TV host decided not to speak on the allegations on his Friday night show.
Chris has been under scrutiny since Shelley, a former executive producer at ABC and CBS, alleged he had been inappropriate with her at a farewell party in 2005. She detailed the incident in an opinion piece in the New York Times.
According to the accuser, the father of three grabbed her butt after giving her a "bear hug" while in the presence of her husband during a farewell party for a colleague of theirs 16 years ago.
"When Mr. Cuomo entered the Upper West Side bar, he walked toward me and greeted me with a strong bear hug while lowering one hand to firmly grab and squeeze the cheek of my buttock," she confessed.
Shelley claimed his actions were a "form of sexual harassment" and "hostile act" but did not believe they were "sexual in nature."
"I never thought that Mr. Cuomo's behavior was sexual in nature," she explained. "Whether he understood it at the time or not, his form of sexual harassment was a hostile act meant to diminish and belittle his female former boss in front of the staff."
In response to the allegation, Cuomo admitted to having apologized to Shelley shortly after the incident took place "16 years ago."
"As Shelley acknowledges, our interaction was not sexual in nature. It happened 16 years ago in a public setting when she was a top executive at ABC," he told the Times. "I apologized to her then, and I meant it."
This report comes just months after Chris was accused of helping his brother Andrew Cuomo cover up sexual harassment allegations that later forced him to step down as a New York Governor.
Chris' current employer CNN is still yet to comment on the accusation.