Explore More
Chris Cuomo found an unlikely ally over his “tinsel crotch” controversy.
Megyn Kelly came to the defense of Cuomo following an allegation leveled by Angela Rye, a former CNN contributor who claimed the anchor got her booted from the cable channel after he made the off-color joke about a bikini photo she posted.
“I never thought I’d say the following words: I am on Chris Cuomo’s side,” Kelly told her audience on Monday’s edition of her SiriusXM program “The Megyn Kelly Show.”
Kelly had no sympathy for Rye, who blamed Cuomo for CNN’s decision not to renew her contract three years ago.
Rye made the allegation against Cuomo, who anchors a prime-time show on NewsNation, during a Jan. 11 podcast episode alongside co-hosts Tiffany Cross, the former MSNBC anchor, and Andrew Gillum, the scandal-tarred ex-gubernatorial candidate in Florida.
“This woman [Rye] talks about what happened like it was like a rape. I mean it…she talks about this, like it was a big 10/10 on list of sins,” Kelly said on Monday.
She accused Rye of fomenting “fake drama” in order to “call attention to this podcast from hell.”
Kelly, who clarified that she’s “not a Cuomo fan” because he has been “attacking my friend Janice Dean for years,” thought the episode was an example of “#MeToo [having] jumped the shark.”
Dean, the Fox News meteorologist, has been critical of Cuomo’s brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Andrew Cuomo came under fire for ordering nursing homes to take back hospitalized COVID patients. Thousands of New Yorkers who were living in nursing homes died of COVID-19 as the virus spread rapidly.
Chris Cuomo, who was fired from CNN after it was learned he helped his brother strategize on how to fight sexual harassment allegations, is once said to have referred to Dean as “that Fox weather bitch.”
Dean’s in-laws died of COVID as the disease swept through nursing homes throughout the state in the early days of the pandemic.
Kelly, the former Fox News star, said Cuomo’s “tinsel crotch” comment was benign.
“She posted on the Internet, a crotch shot of herself in a sparkly gold bikini,” Kelly remarked, adding: “This is not just a bikini shot. It’s a crotch shot.”
“And apparently he sent her a text calling her ‘tinsel crotch’. That’s it.”
In a recent episode of the “Native Land Pod” podcast, Rye tearfully recalled the “embarrassing and humiliating” experience from New Year’s Day 2021 when she was “stunned” to receive a text message from the host of “Cuomo Prime Time.”
“Happy New Year tinsel crotch,” Cuomo is alleged to have texted Rye, who was a frequent guest commentator on his show.
In the text message, Cuomo attached a screenshot of a photo posted by Rye showing her wearing what appeared to be a gold-plated bikini.
When Rye didn’t respond, Cuomo sent a follow-up text offering “a segment idea he had for his prime time show.”
She said that following his New Year’s text, “Chris Cuomo was suddenly excited about a prominent role for me where I would ‘check the left.’”
Rye said she had her doubts about the “genuine nature of this idea” because “Cuomo came up with this particular segment idea after [the] text exchange that went woefully wrong.”
She said she didn’t respond to his offer about the segment right away, but got back to him about a week later, asking “if he still wanted to discuss his work idea despite him mentioning tinsel bikini and tinsel bottom along the way.”
On Jan. 21, 2021, CNN management notified Rye that her contract would not be renewed.
Rye claimed CNN told her “they would be focusing more on [COVID] coverage and less on politics.”
“I knew it was a lie, and it was confirmed when two black women were hired for half my contributor rate right after,” Rye said.
The Post has sought comment from Rye, Cuomo, and CNN.
ncG1vNJzZmimqaW8tMCNnKamZ2Jlf3V7j2pma2tforKltcBopJ6fqaN6rLHLpbBmnJWbsq%2Bw0maaoaqZqHqkwc6mpmahnmLBqrrSnqNmm6KkwaS0jJymp6yipMOmvtKyZg%3D%3D