CNN announced Friday that anchor Chris Cuomo will be taking a "long-planned vacation" amid scandals surrounding his brother, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who was found earlier this week to have sexually harassed 11 women.
Chris's name was outlined in the report released Tuesday by New York Attorney General Letitia James, which found Gov. Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women. The report included revelations that, earlier this year, Chris wrote or edited his brother's response to accusations and was provided confidential New York state information despite not being employed by the state.
Back in May, CNN executives suggested Chris take a "temporary leave" following reports that he previously participated in strategy sessions with the governor's top aides and gave his brother advice on how to handle the sexual harassment allegations. He elected not to leave his primetime show in the midst of controversy.
Instead, the week after the AG report on Gov. Cuomo's sex scandal was released, the CNN host will conveniently go on a "long-planned vacation," The New York Times reported.
But Chris, who turns 51 on Monday, said during a Thursday episode of his CNN podcast, “The Handoff,” that he is taking time off for his birthday, pointing out that "every year I take my birthday week off."
"Cuomo Prime Time" will be replaced Monday by a one-hour special on Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), entitled "Being… AOC."
Monday's special will launch the start of a new "Being" series where anchor Dana Bash "spends time with individuals affecting American policy, politics, and culture to give viewers an understanding of the human being behind the public face."
"In the first episode, Bash speaks to Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, who gives one of her most personal on-camera interviews to date, opening up about her unique perspective on power and femininity, what drives her, and how threats against her and her previous experience with sexual assault impacted her perspective on January 6th," CNN said in a press release.
Project Veritas has leaked footage of the interview ahead of its official showing on CNN.
"You sometimes take heat for your celebrity status for being glamorous," Bash tells Ocasio-Cortez during the interview. "One thing that you said that really struck me is ‘femininity has power.’ You embrace the power."
"And power can have red lips," the CNN anchor continued.
The change in the 9 p.m. time slot could be a result of lost viewership for the liberal media outlet as they failed to reach 1 million viewers over the past week.