CNN anchor Chris Cuomo lost his temper and threatened a man who called him “Fredo” with physical violence during a verbal altercation posted to Youtube on Monday.
The video, posted on the Youtube channel “THAT’S THE POINT with Brandon,” shows Cuomo getting increasingly angry with a photograph seeker who insisted he thought the CNN anchor’s name was “Fredo.”
“Footage sent in by a TTP fan,” the video caption reads. “A fan of news went to ask Chris Cuomo for a photo, mind you the man who asked him DID NOT know his real name and knows of him only through The RUSH LIMBUAGH SHOW and on that show Rush repeatedly calls him ‘FREDO’ so the man legitimately thought his name was FREDO. At this point CHRIS CUOMO LOSES IT AND THREATENS THE MAN WITH VIOLENCE!”
Chris Cuomo is the younger brother of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
WATCH:
The video picks up with the man saying “I thought that’s who you were” after Cuomo apparently took issue being called the name from the outset.
“No, punk ass bitches from the right call me Fredo,” Cuomo said. “I’m an anchor on CNN. Fredo was on ‘The Godfather.’ He was the weak brother, and they use it as an Italian aspersion. Any of you Italian? It’s a fucking insult to your people. It’s an insult to your fucking people. It’s like the n-word for us. So, is that a cool fucking thing?”
“You’re a much more reasonable guy in person than you seem to be on television,” the man said.
“If you want to play then we’ll fucking play,” said Cuomo, beginning to get angry. “If you got something you want to say about what I do on television than say it … You’re gonna have a big fucking problem. It’s a little different on TV. Don’t fucking insult me like that.”
“You call me fucking Fredo,” Cuomo continued. “It’s like I call you punk bitch. You like that? … You called me Fredo. You know my name’s not Fredo.”
“What are you gonna to about it?” asked the man when Cuomo demanded that he “own” what he said.
“I’ll fucking ruin your shit,” said Cuomo. “I’ll fucking throw you down these stairs like a fucking punk.”
“Please do,” said the man. (RELATED: Chris Cuomo: Trump’s ‘Teleprompter’ Speech ‘Hit All The Right Notes,’ But Was Just ‘Lip Service’)
“Why, so you can fucking sue?” asked Cuomo. “Take a fucking swing …”
The confrontation eventually was broken up by others in the room.
This section from the Wikipedia entry for “Fredo Corleone” lends more insight into why Cuomo was insulted:
[Fredo] is the second son of the mafia don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro). Fredo is the younger brother of Sonny (James Caan) and the elder brother to Michael (Al Pacino) and sister, Connie (Talia Shire). Corleone family consigliere Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall) is his informally adopted brother.
Being weaker and less intelligent than his brothers, Fredo has little power or status within the Corleone crime family. The infant Fredo had pneumonia. In the novel, Fredo’s primary weakness is his womanizing, a habit he develops after moving to Las Vegas and which earns his father’s disfavor. In the films, Fredo’s feelings of personal inadequacy and his inability to act effectively on his own behalf are character flaws leading to greater consequences.
In a move that may or may not be related to the confrontation, Cuomo is on vacation this week from his CNN show.
@CuomoPrimeTime will be back on Monday, 8/19
-????????♀️Rose https://t.co/4O4klfsOXd— Christopher C. Cuomo (@ChrisCuomo) August 12, 2019
