Don Lemon Backs Chris Cuomo Live on Air as Host's Involvement With Brother Revealed

CNN host Don Lemon reiterated how grateful he is for Chris Cuomo's friendship and praised his character by calling him "one of the kindest people" he knows last night.

This comes after Cuomo, who has his own CNN show Cuomo Prime Time, has been criticised for his role in supporting his brother, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is facing allegations of sexual assault.

Andrew Cuomo has been accused of forcibly touching a female aid and could face jail time if found guilty. On October 28 a criminal complaint was made in Albany City Court and this required Andrew Cuomo to appear for a hearing on November 17. This has since been pushed back to January 7.

Chris Cuomo has been accused of using his media influence in aid of his brother. Testimony released by the New York Attorney General on Monday showed that Chris Cuomo was able to dig up information on the women accusing his brother.

While Chris Cuomo has admitted to advising his brother on how to strategize and deal with the situation, transcripts have shown he played a more significant role.

On CNN last night both Lemon and Chris Cuomo said how grateful they were for their friends and family and the ability to celebrate being together over the holiday period.

Lemon said: "It is good to see you, I know you had a great Thanksgiving, I hope that you did. I missed you, I am grateful for your friendship and your love, I think that you are fantastic. You are one of the kindest people I know on this planet, there you go, I meant every word."

Cuomo replied by thanking him and said he was appreciative for being able to spend time with his family.

He said: "I am thankful for you in my life. It was good to see you having a good time. I like the Friendsgiving tradition. For us it was great to be in the house for the first time, it was all good, one memory at a time. It is always better with you but it was good to know you were having fun where you were."

During his show yesterday, Chris Cuomo addressed the fact that on his show he would not be speaking about the allegations against his brother or himself. CNN has said it will conduct a thorough investigation into how Chris Cuomo helped his brother.

During his show, he said: "Before we start tonight let me say something that is very obvious to you who watch my show. Thank you for that, you are straight with me, I will be straight with you.

"Obviously I am aware of what is going on with my brother and obviously I cannot cover it because he is my brother. Now, of course, CNN has to cover it, they have covered it extensively and they will continue to do so.

I have always cared, very deeply, about these issues and profoundly so, I just wanted to tell you that. There is a lot of news going on also, so let us get after that."

Newsweek has contacted CNN for comment.

Chris Cuomo and Don Lemon
Television journalist Chris Cuomo is seen arriving at 'The Late Show With Stephen Colbert' at the Ed Sullivan Theater on May 2, 2019 in New York City. Don Lemon attends the 46th Chaplin Award Gala... Gilbert Carrasquillo and Jim Spellman/Getty Images

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Gerrard Kaonga is a Newsweek U.S. News Reporter and is based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on U.S. ... Read more

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