Chris Cuomo Says He Contemplated Suicide After CNN Firing

Chris Cuomo says he struggled with suicide ideation following his firing from CNN.

Content warning: suicide

Speaking to former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci on the latter’s Open Book with Anthony Scaramucci podcast, Cuomo revealed at one point he thought he “was going to kill everybody, including myself,” after he was let go by the cable news network.

“Things can consume you,” he said, according to Page Six, adding he made “a lot of mistakes” but has since gotten help after getting “s–t canned” by CNN.

“There is damage that is relatable, there is damage that is unrelatable to people that I have to deal with, that I am working on,” Cuomo continued.

The veteran TV journalist was first suspended, then terminated, by former CNN president Jeff Zucker in 2021.

Cuomo was fired for violating the network’s journalistic ethics after he helped his brother, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, navigate mounting sexual harassment allegations against him at the time.

In 2022, Cuomo made a comeback on NewsNation, where he currently hosts the prime-time show CUOMO.

Cuomo noted that although it’s “embarrassing” that his NewsNation audience is so “small” compared to his viewership at CNN, it’s a work in progress.

“At CNN, I wasn’t set up to be [No. 1]. I wasn’t the big name there, I didn’t have the big team, they didn’t do the advertising about me. But I was still No. 1. Why? Because it was the best show. Because I was giving people what they needed in that moment,” he told Scaramucci.

Cuomo is reportedly suing CNN for $60 million over his firing.

“I believe that was taken, I believe wrongly. I will litigate that. I am not going to b—h about it in the press,” he said.

CUOMO airs weeknights on NewsNation at 8PM ET.

If you or someone you know needs help, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1 800-273-TALK (8255).