Former CNN anchor Chris Cuomo was spotted out in the Hamptons just a day after he appeared to be reporting live from Ukraine while rebranding himself as a ‘free agent’ in an effort to rehabilitate his career.
Cuomo looked relaxed in a casual t-shirt and ball cap as he strolled around Sag Harbor, New York on Tuesday with actor Gregg Bello, a friend who has supported the ousted anchor since his December 4 firing from CNN.
Cuomo, 51, announced on Instagram Monday that he was rebranding himself as a ‘free agent’ and shared videos of his reporting from Ukraine while plugging merchandise – including a ‘Free Agent’ shirt that his friend Bello was seen wearing on Tuesday.
He had traveled to the war zone at the end of June with his ‘brother’ Sean Penn, who is filming a documentary there. The former anchor appeared to still be there on Monday night as he took to Instagram to tell America to ‘pay more attention’ to what is happening in the war zone.
The former TV anchor was spotted out in the Hamptons on Tuesday, a day after he took to Instagram to tell America to ‘pay more attention’ to what is happening in the war zone in Ukraine
Cuomo looked relaxed as he strolled around Sag Harbor, New York on Tuesday with his pal, actor Gregg Bello. Bello is seen wearing a ‘Free Agent’ shirt, which appears to be merchandise from Cuomo’s website as he attempts to rebrand himself
Former CNN host Chris Cuomo is relaunching his journalism career as a ‘free agent’ reporting from Ukraine
‘What is happening right now in Ukraine is bad and America should be paying a lot more attention.
‘I went to the eastern front… Outmanned and outgunned we had to hide behind abandoned buildings,’ he said.
He likened the conflict to ‘WW2’ and compared Ukrainians to Americans fighting the War of Independence.
‘Ukrainians sound like Americans 240yrs ago vs the British.
They are laying down their lives to keep the freedoms we have here.
‘The interest here has slowed…the war is only accelerating. I will show you more reason to care…soon. Thank you for the interest.’
He then instructed his followers to ‘be a #freeagent’ like him.
The carousel of videos garnered nearly 14,000 likes on Instagram in the hours after it was posted – a far cry from the 750,000 viewers he routinely attracted with his prime time CNN show.
On Tuesday, Cuomo was seen walking around the Hamptons, a far cry from the war torn region of Ukraine
Cuomo and his friend Gregg Bello enjoyed a sunny day in the Hamptons on Tuesday
In his first video, Cuomo filmed himself wearing an army helmet and sunglasses.
‘We are situated on the side of this building because the artillery has been passing along here on the other side of it and literally they are standing where they are because it’s safe and if they step out they have to worry about something hitting and exploding like that hole right there that is the nature of this war.’
In another, he films his team walking through an abandoned town.
‘This was the last shelling this was seven days ago. It’s pretty abandoned.
‘We keep this kind of distance under shelling so that if one hits, not everybody gets hit.’
Cuomo told his followers to pay more attention to the war in Ukraine, which he compared to WW2 and The War of Independence. He shared multiple videos from the scene of Ukrainian fighters and foreign journalists. He is shown, right, standing in front of a mound of harvested grain, explaining to followers why it can’t be exported
Last week, Cuomo said he’d traveled to the region with his ‘brother’ Sean Penn, who is filming a documentary there
On June 29, Cuomo announced he was in Ukraine. ‘More to come of how bad it is getting here. #ukraine #ukrainewar #letsgetafterit,’ he said, invoking his old CNN catchphrase
In another video, Cuomo shows off a Ukrainian tank and gets a tutorial from a soldier on how it is used.
‘In others a European journalist explains to him how the Russians are shooting prohibited weapons at them.
He also filmed in front of a mound of unused grain, telling the camera: ‘We talk about the Ukrainian grain issue and how they can’t export right now.
‘This is like a lot of grain that was harvested.
‘The Russians destroyed this. The soldiers say their motto is ‘if they can’t have it nobody can.’
It’s unclear who he traveled with or who is footing the bill.
Cuomo has rebranded as a ‘free agent’ and is selling merchandise on his website in an apparent bid to fund his dispatches
Image overhaul: Chris had been quiet until recently, when he popped back up on Instagram with his reports from the warzone. Now, he is flogging merch and giving away t-shirts
Among the items for sale on the disgraced host’s website are t-shirts, hoodies, mugs and hats with the slogan: ‘Are YOU free?’
On June 29, Cuomo announced he was in Ukraine.
‘More to come of how bad it is getting here. #ukraine #ukrainewar #letsgetafterit,’ he said, invoking his old CNN catchphrase.
The 51-year-old was fired by CNN in December last year after he was caught advising his scandal-plagued brother, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, through sexual misconduct allegations while clinging on to his spot as the network’s top anchor.
Last week, Cuomo said he’d traveled to the Ukraine with his ‘brother’ Sean Penn, who has been filming a documentary in the region. The actor has also met with President Zelensky
In another video, Cuomo shows off a Ukrainian tank and gets a tutorial from a soldier on how it is used. In others a European journalist explains to him how the Russians are shooting prohibited weapons at them
In the months that followed, Cuomo was accused of trying to tear the network down with him by exposing an affair between former boss Jeff Zucker and his aide Allison Gollust.
He is also fighting scrappily for a $125million payout from CNN, which he claims unfairly fired him and deprived him of future earnings.
Cuomo’s unveiling last night comes days after he teased his comeback on his website, writing: ‘Something’s coming’ in an effort to tantalize fans.
In the months after his departure from CNN, Cuomo was accused of trying to tear the network down with him by exposing an affair between former boss Jeff Zucker and his aide Allison Gollust (shown above)
Cuomo was fired by CNN in December last year, knocking him off the network’s top spot