CNN anchor Chris Cuomo was captured on video flying off the handle and spiraling into an expletive-laden rant after he encountered a man that apparently called him “Fredo” in reference to Fredo Corleone from The Godfather.
Fredo was not too pleased with the comment and unleashed a rant where he compared using “Fredo” to calling an African-American the n-word and threatening to throw the man down the steps.
It wasn’t a good look for one of the faces of the network.
“Punk ass b*tches from the right call me ‘Fredo.’ My name is Chris Cuomo, I’m an anchor on CNN. Fredo is from the ‘Godfather,’ he was a weak brother and the use of it to an Italian is disparaging,” the 49-year-old anchor can be heard yelling. “Don’t f–ing insult me like that. You call me ‘Fredo’ it’s like I call you punk b–ch, you like that?
“I’ll f–ing throw you down these stairs like a f–ing punk… you’re gonna call me Fredo, take a f–ing swing? I’ll f–ing wreck your sh*t.”
Here is the video of Cuomo’s public meltdown:
CNN, however, is standing by their anchor and said that he was simply defending himself from an ethnic slur in response to a setup.
“Chris Cuomo defended himself when he was verbally attacked with the use of an ethnic slur in an orchestrated setup,” a spokesperson from CNN told the New York Post in a statement. “We completely support him.”
As you might expect, Donald Trump Jr. was quick to take aim at the CNN anchor on social media and wasted no time trolling him.
“Hey [Chris Cuomo], take it from me, ‘Fredo’ isn’t the N word for Italians, it just means you’re the dumb brother,” the president’s son tweeted. “Guys I have a feeling Chris ‘Fake News Fredo’ Cuomo is going to stick.”
Trump Jr. also shared video of a CNN segment where he was referred to as “Fredo” and the comment generated no reaction from Cuomo.
Cuomo has yet to comment on the altercation.
