Female CNN producer exited 'Cuomo Prime Time' in 2020 after feeling 'threatened' by anchor, sources say

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Media top headlines September 27

In media news today, 'The View' co-host Ana Navarro reveals her COVID tests were false positives, CNN anchor Chris Cuomo stays silent on his own sexual harassment scandal, and The New Yorker hosts a climate change extremist who promotes property damage

The executive producer of CNN's "Cuomo Prime Time" quit the show last year after feeling "threatened" by the namesake anchor, Chris Cuomo.

Melanie Buck headed the network's most-watched program from April 2018 to her sudden departure in March 2020 after she "begged" for a transfer, as Page Six first reported. 

"A CNN insider confirmed Buck went to CNN boss Jeff Zucker and asked to be taken off Cuomo’s show and moved to another department, which he agreed to," Page Six reported. "The insider denied rumors that Buck was given a significant pay-off to stay silent over her spat with the agitable anchor."

Fox News confirmed that Buck felt "threatened" by Cuomo. 

A former CNN insider heard rumors about the tense relationship between Buck and Cuomo, telling Fox News the producer perceived a "ruin your career type of threat" from the anchor. 

CNN FAILS TO COVER SEXUAL HARASSMENT ALLEGATION AGAINST CHRIS CUOMO ON AIR

In a statement to Page Six, Buck pointed to "significant differences" she had with Cuomo regarding the direction of "Cuomo Prime Time" and confirmed she had "asked to leave the show," adding she has "moved on" from her stint in primetime and is "looking forward" as an executive producer of morning live programming on CNN's recently-announced streaming service, CNN+. 

The former CNN insider shed light on those "significant differences" between the two. According to the source, Buck wanted "Cuomo Prime Time" to pursue more long-form interviews while Cuomo was set on pursuing more opinion programming. 

Neither Buck nor CNN immediately responded to Fox News' requests for comment. 

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According to her LinkedIn page, Buck has worked at CNN for nearly 18 years, previously serving as producers for CNN anchors Wolf Blitzer and Jake Tapper. Between her exit from "Cuomo Prime Time" and joining CNN+, Buck was the executive producer of CNN's 2020 election coverage as well as live events and pre-taped specials. 

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Last week, Cuomo was accused by veteran TV producer Shelley Ross of sexual harassment in 2005 when the two of them worked at ABC News. 

In a guest essay published in The New York Times on Friday, Ross alleged that Cuomo grabbed her buttock at a work event in front of her husband. She even included an email he sent to her at the time apologizing for the incident. Cuomo reiterated his apology to his former boss in a statement to the Times. CNN has yet to publicly address the allegation.