Chris Cuomo Continues Family Tradition of Absolutely Hating "The Godfather"

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This time, it was Fredo’s heart that got broken.

Chris Cuomo — the CNN anchor and younger sibling of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo — was filmed getting into a heated, expletive-ridden exchange with a heckler who called him “Fredo” at a Long Island bar Sunday evening. Cuomo was so upset, in fact, that he equated the comment to being called the “n-word” and threatened to throw the guy down the stairs. But he also bemoaned being considered the weakest of the three Corleone brothers.

“Punk ass bitches from the right call me Fredo,” Cuomo is heard saying on a video sent to and published by right-wing Youtuber Brandon Recor. “My name is Chris Cuomo. I’m an anchor on CNN. Fredo is from 'The Godfather.' He was a weak brother. And they’re using it as an Italian aspersion.”

“Any of you Italian? It’s an insult to your fucking people,” Cuomo continues in the video. “It’s like the n-word for us. Is that a cool fucking thing?"

Chris is also not the first Cuomo to take issue with “The Godfather.” His father, the late Mario Cuomo, refused to see the movie for years because of its portrayal of Italians.

A little more than halfway through the near two-minute back and forth, Cuomo threatens the heckler.

“I’ll fucking ruin your shit,” Cuomo says. “I’ll fucking throw you down these stairs like a fucking punk.”

This isn’t the first time Cuomo has invoked the n-word when defending himself. In early 2017, Cuomo compared the term “fake news” to the racial slur in an interview with Sirius XM’s Michael Smerconish. He would later apologize.

Despite his relation to the New York dynasty of Democrats, several ring-wing personalities — including Fox News Anchor Sean Hannity and former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski — have come to Cuomo’s defense in the “Fredo” spat. They noted that they, too, have experienced similar situations when out in public with their families.

CNN spokesperson Matt Dornic also came to Cuomo’s defense.

“Chris Cuomo defended himself when he was verbally attacked with the use of an ethnic slur in an orchestrated set up,” Dornic said. “We completely support him.”

But Cuomo later admitted that he may have overreacted when confronted by the heckler.

“Truth is I should be better than the guys baiting me,” Cuomo tweeted Tuesday morning. “This happens all the time these days. Often in front of my family. But there is a lesson: no need to add to the ugliness; I should be better than what I oppose.”

Of course, this didn’t stop the President of the United States and his son from getting involved — and taking a few shots at their least favorite cable news network.

Tuesday morning, Recor claimed that the video was taken down from Youtube for violating it’s anti-harrasment and bullying policy. The video was reinstated just minutes after he appealed the takedown.

Cover image: CNN news anchor Chris Cuomo attends the WarnerMedia Upfront at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, May 15, 2019, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)