Bad blood at CNN years after Chris Cuomo broke ‘bro code’ and ‘stabbed’ Jeff Zucker ‘in the front’: insiders

It’s been over three years since Chris Cuomo was axed from CNN — but bruised feelings remain at the network over his ouster, and the departure of his onetime boss, Jeff Zucker.

Cuomo reignited the CNN feud during a recent episode of Patrick Bet-David’s podcast by slamming his former cable news bestie, Don Lemon, for not having his back when he was fired.

Sources, however, tell Page Six it was Cuomo who broke the “bro code” when he allegedly backstabbed Zucker and girlfriend Allison Gollust, who were engulfed in a scandal at the time.

“Jeff put him in prime time. Jeff protected him and Chris sold him out,” a source told Page Six. “He stabbed [Zucker] in the front [by] trying to take the network down.”

6

6

Multiple sources said they believe Cuomo was the whistleblower behind Zucker and Gollust’s relationship being exposed, despite it being “the worst kept secret in media,” as one person said.

Cuomo described the accusation as “absurd” in a statement to Page Six. (He’s currently in a $125 million legal battle with CNN.)

Meanwhile, the affair led Zucker to resign as head of CNN, while Gollust — who once worked for Cuomo’s brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo — eventually stepped down as CMO.

We’re told some CNN staffers are still sore at Cuomo, who they believe “tried to take down the network” by filing suit when he got the boot.

“It felt vindictive. Jeff and Allison were beloved. Chris was not. I don’t think I’ve ever heard one person say a good thing about him,” one media insider told Page Six.

6

6

Another source familiar with the situation told us, “No one at CNN speaks to [Cuomo]” after he tried to “sully anyone’s credibility and reputation.”

A source told us the situation also ended his friendship with Lemon, who told Mediaite last year he still loves the NewsNation host.

Cuomo blasted the accusations as “absurd” and told us, “I have many friends from CNN. It was a great place.”

“The rest of this is absurd and will come out in litigation. If Jeff Zucker or Don Lemon want to have an honest conversation with me, they know how to find me,” he said.

Zucker and Lemon did not comment.

6

6

Cuomo and Lemon previously hosted “The Handoff” podcast as a spinoff of their once-popular nightly handovers on CNN, between their past shows, “Cuomo Prime Time” and “Don Lemon Tonight.”

Despite previously proclaiming how real their bromance was, Cuomo said in the podcast interview that the banter was just Zucker’s idea, due to his concern about how Lemon would open his show.

An insider familiar with the situation then dismissed Cuomo’s comments as “absurd” and a “naked play for attention.” 

In 2022, Zucker wrote colleagues in a memo: “As part of the investigation into Chris Cuomo’s tenure at CNN, I was asked about a consensual relationship with my closest colleague, someone I have worked with for more than 20 years … I acknowledged the relationship evolved in recent years. I was required to disclose it when it began but I didn’t. I was wrong. As a result, I am resigning today.”