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Jeff Zucker, Allison Gollust pressured Andrew Cuomo to appear on brother’s CNN show during COVID: book

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Ousted CNN boss Jeff Zucker and his girlfriend, CNN marketing exec Allison Gollust, repeatedly pressured New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to appear on his brother Chris’ primetime show during the coronavirus pandemic to boost the network’s ratings, according to a new book.

Melissa DeRosa — a top aide to Cuomo before he resigned over a sexual misconduct allegation — writes in her new book, “What’s Left Unsaid,” that Zucker and Gollust both phoned him one evening after he informed the network that he would be unable to appear.

According to an excerpt from the book, which appeared in the Daily Beast, DeRosa claimed that Zucker and Gollust “guilt-tripped” Cuomo into changing his mind.

The Post has sought comment from DeRosa, Chris Cuomo, Zucker and Gollust.

A spokesperson for Andrew Cuomo has declined to comment.

Chris Cuomo’s softball interviews with his brother were a source of controversy given the obvious conflict of interest, though DeRosa wrote that she “didn’t see a problem with the arrangement.”

Former CNN boss Jeff Zucker and his girlfriend, Allison Gollust, the network’s former top marketing officer, reportedly pressured then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo to appear on CNN.
Annie Wermiel/NY Post
Then-Gov. Cuomo appeared on Chris Cuomo’s CNN show nearly a dozen times during the first weeks of the pandemic.
The pandemic-era interviews between the Cuomo brothers on CNN generated fierce criticism amid accusations of favoritism and a conflict of interest.
AP
CNN executives were reportedly keen to book the governor due to the ratings boost his appearances provided.

In 2013, CNN instituted a rule barring Chris Cuomo from interviewing his brother, but the rule was relaxed in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.

DeRosa wrote in her book that CNN was correct in relaxing the rule given the “unprecedented crisis.”

“In fact, we didn’t even discuss it as an issue at the beginning; it happened the same way everything else did then — on the fly. And the public loved it,” she wrote.

Melissa DeRosa, a former top aide to the then-governor, has penned a new book, “What’s Left Unsaid.”
Celeste Sloman

“In the absence of being able to be with their own families, they got to watch one on TV. The interviews were factual and informative but included brotherly banter and teasing, each ending with three words: ‘I love you.’”

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According to DeRosa, Zucker “leaned into” the banter-filled on-air sessions between the brothers.

DeRosa claims that her boss rejected her advice to minimize his appearances on CNN.
Michael Brochstein

But DeRosa wrote that she began to have doubts that it was sustainable given that prominent journalists from both within CNN and at other news agencies were highly critical of the arrangement.

“While things may have appeared rosy to viewers at home, behind the scenes the arrangement began to cause agita and became a source of consternation between the governor and me,” the former aide wrote.

DeRosa wrote that she tried to dissuade her boss from appearing, telling him: “The schtick was great at the beginning — comforting even, but it’s too much now. The jokes, the back-and-forth.”

“At some point soon, the press is going to blow the whistle on this. Let’s end it before they do,” DeRosa reportedly told the then-governor.

Cuomo stepped down as governor in 2021 after several women alleged he sexually harassed them.
James Messerschmidt

When Andrew Cuomo’s office declined to appear, Gollust, who used to work for Andrew Cuomo, phoned him and told him that she and other CNN top brass “were counting on him for the top of the show, and not doing it will create a headache for us,” according to DeRosa.

According to DeRosa’s book, Gollust texted Andrew Cuomo earlier that day and “he didn’t indicate there’d be a problem.”

When DeRosa asked Gollust to go through “the normal channels” to schedule interviews with the then-governor rather than contacting him directly, that prompted a sharp response from the former CNN executive, according to the book.

“‘Uh-huh,’ [Gollust] said, her tone clipped,” DeRosa wrote.

According to DeRosa, Zucker would personally phone the then-governor and plead with him to come on the air.
REUTERS

“‘You are completely screwing us, Melissa, but I got it. Thanks so much. Talk to you soon,’” Gollust reportedly told DeRosa.

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“She hung up,” DeRosa wrote. “Message sent and received.”

Gollust and Zucker then phoned the ex-governor directly, prompting him to reverse his decision and appear on CNN’s air.

DeRosa wrote that Andrew Cuomo “waffled” by telling her: “Look, Melissa, I know I told you I’d take a pass, but … I don’t want this to become a thing.”

Zucker was fired as head of CNN after it was learned that he had been carrying on a relationship with his top marketing officer, Gollust.
Jack Elbaum

According to DeRosa, Andrew Cuomo told her that he was “giving in” and that Zucker was “Chris’s boss.”

The former Cuomo aide said the governor and his brother were so close that he put the “relationship above all else” and that they “support one another unconditionally.”

“If they wanted the governor on air, CNN would reach out initially through our press office, but they wouldn’t take ‘no’ or even ‘maybe’ for an answer,” DeRosa wrote.

“Anything less than a solid commitment and either Allison or Jeff would go running straight to the governor. I typically found out about the arrangement afterward, and would then coordinate with Allison on the back end.”

Weeks after Zucker’s firing last year, Gollust tendered her resignation.
Heidi Gutman/NBC Universal

CNN’s ban was later reinstituted after several women came forward and accused Gov. Cuomo of sexual harassment — allegations that would eventually force him to step down in the summer of 2021.

Andrew Cuomo has denied the allegations.

A subsequent investigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James found that Chris Cuomo was helping his brother with messaging as well as finding information about his accusers.

The revelation prompted CNN to suspend — and eventually fire — Chris Cuomo in late 2021.

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After his firing, Chris Cuomo filed an arbitration claim seeking a $125 million payout from the network for what he termed an “unlawful” firing.

Chris Cuomo filed a $125 million arbitration suit against CNN, claiming his firing was “unlawful.”
AP

An internal investigation that was launched by CNN in the wake of the Cuomo firing uncovered a years-long sexual relationship between Zucker and Gollust.

Zucker was fired as head of CNN. Gollust resigned weeks later.

Since his ouster, Zucker has partnered RedBird and Abu Dhabi-backed IMI to form a private equity firm seeking to acquire sports, media and entertainment companies.

Chris Cuomo has resurfaced on cable news network NewsNation, where he hosts a primetime show.



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