CNN’s Cuomo explodes, threatens man who calls him ‘Fredo’; viral video ensures name’s going to stick

(Video screenshots)

In an ironic move equivalent to something you might see in an Italian mobster movie like, say, “The Godfather,” CNN anchor and host Chris Cuomo threatened to throw a random man down the stairs on Sunday after the unnamed man approached him in public and referred to him by a nickname plucked from – wait for it – “The Godfather.”

Watch the whole altercation below:

**Warning for language**

 

The viral video footage above shows Cuomo lecturing the unnamed man at a bar in Shelter Island, New York, after the man reportedly tried to start a conversation with him but referred to him as “Fredo” versus his actual name. According to the CNN anchor, this nickname is racist.

“Punk-ass b-tches from the right call me Fredo,” Cuomo can be heard saying. “My name is Chris Cuomo — I’m an anchor at CNN. ‘Fredo’ is from ‘The Godfather.’ He was that weak brother. And they use it as an Italian aspersion.”

While it’s unclear when exactly conservatives – or “punk-ass b-tches from the right,” as Cuomo described them –  began referring to him as “Fredo,” it’s known for certain that conservative radio show host Rush Limbaugh has been using the nickname for him for several years now.

Moreover, the nickname does indeed derive from “The Godfather,” which features a character, Frederico “Fredo” Corleone, who is the less successful younger brother of Sonny Corleone — much like Chris is the less successful younger brother of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

“Any of you Italian?” the CNN anchor continues in the video above. “It’s an insult to your people. It’s an insult to your f–king people. It’s like the n-word for us. Is that a cool f–king thing?”

Fact-check: FALSE.

Stunned by Cuomo’s unnecessary outrage, the unnamed man then sarcastically replies, “You’re a much more reasonable guy in person than you seem to be on television.”

And that’s when the CNN anchor’s gangster-like inner personality begins to creep out.

“If you want to play, we can f–king play,” he says. “If you got something you want to say about what I do on television, then say it. … [Y]ou’re going to have a big f–king problem. It’s a little different on TV. Don’t f–king insult me like that. You called me Fredo. It’s like I called you punk-b-tch. You like that?”

The unnamed man replies by claiming that he really thought Cuomo’s name was Fredo.

Given that Limbaugh always refers to Cuomo as “Fredo” versus his real name, it’s definitely possible that — assuming the unnamed man regularly listens to Limbaugh’s radio show — he genuinely thought that the CNN anchor’s real name was indeed “Fredo.”

But Cuomo wasn’t convinced.

“You did not think my name is f–king Fredo!” he bellows in anger. “Don’t be a liar. Want to be a liar, then stand up like a man. You want to be a man, then I’m here.”

“Listen, man, I don’t have a problem with you, man,” the man replies, trying to deescalate the “problem.”

Newsflash: There’s no deescalating a conflict with a gangster, son. Unless of course you’re dealing with a fake/wanna-be gangster.

“You’re going to have a f–king problem!” Cuomo barks.

“What — what’re you going to do about it?” the man replies.

“I’ll f–king ruin your shit — I’ll f–king throw you down these stairs like a f–king punk,” Chris Cuomo Corleone replies with the swagger of an Italian mobster.

“Please do,” the man replies.

“Why?” Cuomo continues. “So you can f–king sue? Go ahead, take a f–king swing at me. I’ll f–king wreck your shit. You didn’t know what you were doing when you called me Fredo? What about now?

The video ends with the man trying once more to convince Cuomo that it was an honest mistake.

The footage was reportedly uploaded to YouTube sometime Monday by the channel “THAT’S THE POINT with Brandon.” In a Twitter update Monday evening, the channel’s corresponding Twitter account claimed the altercation began when the unnamed man asked for a photo with Cuomo. The Twitter account also confirmed that the man is indeed a Limbaugh fan:

The now-viral footage has provoked a wide array of responses, though the most common response appears to be one of mockery and derision.

Case in point:

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Vivek Saxena

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