In a pre-recorded speech on his last day at the office on Monday, Andrew Cuomo was defiant. (File)
Los Angeles:
Andrew Cuomo, who resigned as New York governor over sexual harassment allegations, was stripped of the Emmy he won for his primetime pandemic briefings on Tuesday.
The one-time Democratic Party heavyweight won worldwide acclaim for his live-television appearances on the coronavirus as it swept across the United States in early 2020.
His performances, which came as then-President Donald Trump confused with disjointed reports of the health crisis, earned him the International Emmy Founders Award.
But Tuesday, the day after Cuomo left the governor’s mansion, the academy said it was taking back the gong.
“The International Academy announced today that in light of the New York Attorney General’s report and the subsequent resignation of Andrew Cuomo as governor, it is withdrawing its special 2020 International Emmy Award,” the organization said in a statement to AFP. .
“His name and any reference to his receipt of the award will be removed from International Academy materials in the future.”
Past recipients of the award include Oprah Winfrey, Stephen Spielberg and Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes.
Cuomo’s confident appearance at the start of the pandemic sparked talk of a possible presidential run, as well as the emergence of a devoted group of fans, some of whom referred to themselves as “Cuomosexuals.”
But his stock began to dwindle late last year when he was awash in allegations that he was obscuring the true extent of Covid-19 deaths in nursing homes.
Several women came forward this year claiming that the 63-year-old had behaved inappropriately towards them.
The allegations culminated in an explosive report by Attorney General Letitia James, released this month, that he had sexually harassed 11 women, including by engaging in unwanted touching.
Cuomo strenuously denied the allegations, initially rejecting calls to stop, including from President Joe Biden.
In a pre-recorded speech on his last day in the office on Monday, Cuomo was defiant.
“There was a political rush and the media. But the truth will come out in time. I have every confidence in that,” he said.
“Sex and the City” star Cynthia Nixon, who ran against Cuomo for governor in 2018, launched a Twitter page about her former rival on Tuesday.
“The difference between me and Andrew Cuomo? Neither of us are governors, but I still have my Emmy(s),” she tweeted.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NewsMadura staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.)
