NEW YORK (AP) — A veteran TV news executive says CNN anchor Chris Cuomo sexually harassed her by squeezing her buttocks at a party in 2005.
Shelley Ross said in an opinion piece in The New York Times on Friday that Cuomo, who formerly reported to her at ABC News, greeted her with a bear hug and squeezed her buttocks while she was at a party with her husband.
During that moment, Ross claims Cuomo said, “I can do this now that you’re no longer my boss.” She says she then told him he can’t and pushed him off.
She says he apologized in an email shortly after, saying he was “ashamed.” Cuomo told the Times the apology was sincere.
Ross says she sees Cuomo’s apology as “an attempt to provide himself with legal and more coverage to evade accountability.”
The anchor has been criticized for his role in advising his brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Andrew Cuomo resigned last month over sexual harassment allegations from multiple women.