CNN host Chris Cuomo has caught flak after he said he’s “Black on the inside” after singing the Good Times theme song during a segment with Don Lemon.
The 50-year-old journalist and news host was skewered on Twitter for the moment, which was his answer to why he knew the song so well. “How do you know all the words to Good Times?” asked Lemon.
“You know I’m Black on the inside,” he said, with Lemon quickly moving on from his comments. The awkward moment only lasted a few seconds, but it was long enough for some to take issue with it.
Some simply expressed their disappointment, while others such as Twitter user @AishaStaggers explained why it’s so offensive to others. “Black isn’t something you can just say you feel you are inside without having to deal with the racism that comes with being physically Black on the outside,” she wrote. Some users also pointed out Cuomo has received scrutiny for his comments on race in the past.
In a clip that resurfaced in 2019, Cuomo said getting called “Fredo” as an Italian-American is “like the N-word to us.”
The situation comes after a particularly bad news week for the Cuomo family, with his brother and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo facing increasing pressure to resign amid sexual misconduct allegations. Multiple women have reported Cuomo’s unwanted advances and instances of sexual assault, but he has denied all the allegations.
“I never touched anyone inappropriately," he said in response to the accusations leveled against him. "Get the facts, please, before forming an opinion. And the Attorney General is doing that review. I will fully cooperate with it and then you will know the facts and make a decision when you know the facts."
