CNN staff ‘embarrassed’ by Chris Cuomo’s Fredo flap

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Chris Cuomo gets heated after heckler calls him 'Fredo'

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Insiders say that — while CNN brass stood by Chris Cuomo after he was caught on camera threatening a man who called him “Fredo” — the newsroom rank and file was “embarrassed” by the blowup.

Cuomo, who hosts the 9 p.m. “Cuomo Prime Time,” told the guy in the Shelter Island confrontation that the “Godfather” reference was a racial slur “like the ‘N-word'” for Italian Americans, called him “a punk-a-- b----” and told him, “I’ll f–-ing ruin your s – t. I’ll f–-ing throw you down these stairs.”

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One insider said they personally thought the run-in was “great” and that Cuomo would get a pass from higher-ups because “he’s BFFs with [CNN president Jeff] Zucker.” Another said the newsroom chatter was that “everyone thinks it’s fine to stand up to trolls, but it escalated way past where it needed to.” While they said Cuomo generally has a good reputation with the staff, “It was embarrassing.” They added, “It was an unforced error, and he gave the right — and the president — ammunition to use against him and CNN.”

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President Donald Trump had a field day with the clip on Twitter, writing, among other things, “I thought Chris was Fredo also. The truth hurts. Totally lost it! Low ratings [CNN],” and calling him “nuts.” After the video surfaced, CNN said, “Chris Cuomo defended himself when he was verbally attacked with the use of an ethnic slur in an orchestrated setup. We completely support him.”