Chris Cuomo May Have Flagged Jeff Zucker’s Office Relationship As Revenge, Insiders Say

According to anonymous sources within CNN, Jeff Zucker‘s surprising exit from the company may have occurred because of retaliation from anchor Chris Cuomo, who was fired in December for privately advising his brother Andrew Cuomo during his sexual harassment scandal.

This past Wednesday, Zucker stepped down as President of CNN Worldwide after he failed to disclose a romantic relationship that developed between himself and executive Allison Gollust in recent years. Gollust, who worked as a communications director for Andrew Cuomo briefly from 2012 to 2013, will remain at the company.

According to anonymous sources who shared with The New York Times, Zucker’s relationship was first brought up by Chris Cuomo and his legal team during separation talks with lawyers from CNN’s parent company, WarnerMedia. Cuomo is reportedly pursuing legal action against the network, and an insider called Cuomo’s callout of his former boss’s relationship a clear case of him “dragging down Zucker on his way out.”

Cuomo and Zucker had been closely tied at the network for some time. Zucker hired Cuomo from ABC News in 2013 and even defended him when Cuomo was first accused of conflicts of interest in interactions with his brother’s office. Some sources have even claimed that Zucker would personally coach Andrew Cuomo on proper talking points for several 2020 appearances, an accusation Zucker has denied.

Zucker’s departure has reportedly shocked CNN staffers, both on-air talent like Jake Tapper and Don Lemon, and off-air staff, who weren’t even aware that Zucker’s resignation was on the table. In a tearful broadcast Saturday, Lemon called Zucker “the backbone, the glue and the spirit of this company.”

Since CNN has become a particular target for right-wing mockery, former President Donald Trump of course had some parting words for the executive after the news broke. Trump, who became much more famous after Zucker greenlit his reality series The Apprentice, said in a statement that Zucker was “terminated for numerous reasons, but predominantly because CNN has lost its way with viewers and everybody else.”