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Cuomo called into WAMC radio on Tuesday, Oct. 15, where he was asked to discuss the purported controversy regarding Indigenous Peoples’ Day, which was celebrated at the same time as Columbus Day.
The conversation took a turn to a weekend New York Times opinion piece that spoke of the treatment of Italian Americans in the past. It was then that he used the racial slur.
“They used an expression that southern Italians were called, I believe they were saying southern Italians, Sicilians — I’m half Sicilian — were called, quote-unquote and pardon my language, but I’m just quoting the Times: ‘n—r wops.’ N-word wops, as a derogatory comment,” Cuomo said, enunciating. “When I said that ‘wop’ was a derogatory comment, that was when the Times Union told me, no, you should look in Wikipedia, ‘wop’ really meant a dandy.”
Cuomo’s gaffe quickly went viral on social media, and the backlash was swift and decisive, crushing the longtime New York governor. Cuomo’s office has not offered an official comment on the incident.
The governor’s slip comes days after his brother, CNN anchor Chris Cuomo apologized on-air for joking about using female pronouns at a Democratic presidential candidates' town hall on LGBTQ rights with California Sen. Kamala Harris.
“PLEASE READ: When Sen Harris said her pronouns were she, her, and her's, I said mine too. I should not have. I apologize,” Chris Cuomo posted on Twitter. “I am an ally of the LGBTQ community, and I am sorry because I am committed to helping us achieve equality. Thank you for watching our town-hall.”
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