There’s no love lost between axed CNN news bros Chris Cuomo and Don Lemon.
Cuomo even whined about Lemon’s alleged lack of loyalty in a recent episode of Patrick Bell-David’s “Home Team” podcast.
When asked whether he’d team up with Lemon for a podcast, Cuomo barked, “Why would I do it?”
“You think he’s going to apologize to me? I am a loyalty guy… that’s the end of the analysis for me… You’re ride or die, or you’re not,” he said.
The duo previously hosted “The Handoff” podcast. It was a spinoff of their once-popular nightly handovers on CNN, during which they often declared their love for each other, between their past shows, “Cuomo Prime Time” and “Don Lemon Tonight.”
Despite constantly proclaiming how real their bromance was, Cuomo now says the banter was their former boss Jeff Zucker’s idea due to his concern about how Lemon would open his show.
Cuomo recalled that Zucker explained it as, “You’ve gotta stay over on his show to help mitigate whatever’s going to come out of his mouth.”
Insiders familiar with the situation remember it differently, with one calling Cuomo’s take “absurd.”
“Everyone knows that the toss was the brainchild of Jeff Zucker. The rest of this is absurd and a naked play for attention by Chris Cuomo,” they said.
Another person huffed Page Six, “If Chris’ lips are moving, he’s lying.”
Cuomo and Lemon’s mutual admiration soured in 2021 when the hot-rod loving news anchor found himself aiding his brother, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, in the midst of the pol’s sexual harassment scandal, and was subsequently terminated from the network.
He claimed Lemon didn’t have his back during the debacle, and sees no point in doing a podcast with him. (Andrew, who’s now running for mayor, denied any wrongdoing.)
“Why would I do it? You think he’s going to apologize to me? Do it to me, man to man,” he said.
Cuomo is still behind a $100 million lawsuit against CNN for his dismissal, and has since moved on to hosting his own primetime show at NewsNation.
Meanwhile, Lemon and Zucker were later involved in their own respective controversies, which resulted in the CNN boss resigning and Lemon subsequently being ousted after 17 years at the network.
Cuomo speculated Lemon’s tenure at CNN was because, “Zucker’s best friend is Don Lemon’s best friend — who’s his agent — so, they had a real bond,” he told PBD.
Lemon is hosting his eponymous YouTube show. Cuomo, however, said, “doesn’t find what he’s saying particularly interesting,” which is another reason he won’t reunite on a podcast.
Lemon and Zucker have yet to respond to Cuomo, who also did not comment.
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