Former ABC producer accuses Chris Cuomo of sexually harassing her

A former ABC producer says that CNN anchor Chris Cuomo sexually harassed her in 2005.

As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Shelley Ross was harassed during a work party when she and Cumo worked for ABC.

Ross states that Cuomo engaged in inappropriate behavior in front of her husband and work colleagues during the party.

“When Mr. Cuomo entered the Upper West Side bar, he walked toward me and greeted me with a strong bear hug while lowering one hand to firmly grab and squeeze the cheek of my buttock,” says Ross.

“‘I can do this now that you’re no longer my boss,’ he said to me with a kind of cocky arrogance. ‘No you can’t,’ I said, pushing him off me at the chest while stepping back, revealing my husband, who had seen the entire episode at close range. We quickly left,” Ross continues.

Ross left her role as producer at “Primetime Live” and served as the producer of an entertainment special during the time that the incident occurred.

Since the incident, Cuomo sent out an email apology. In the email, Cuomo apologized to Ross and her husband, also apologizing for putting her in an uncomfortable position.

Ross states that she didn’t believe Cuomo’s actions were sexual in nature. “Whether he understood it at the time or not, his form of sexual harassment was a hostile act meant to diminish and belittle his female former boss in front of the staff,” says Ross. 

Cuomo gave a response to Ross in her column later addressing the statement. “As Shelley acknowledges, our interaction was not sexual in nature. It happened 16 years ago in a public setting when she was a top executive at ABC. I apologized to her then, and I meant it,” says Cuomo.

This news comes as Cuomo played an active role in defending his brother Andrew Cuomo from claims of sexual harassment.