Radar Online
CNN’s ratings are tanking after finding the network found itself entangled in scandal both on and off the screen.
According to The New York Post, the liberal channel’s ratings have taken a 90% nosedive during the first week of 2022. The left-winged news program only brought in 548,000 viewers for the January 3rd week compared to the whopping 2.7 million viewers for the same week one year before.
Of course, the January 6, 2021 capitol riots brought in eyeballs — giving CNN its most-watched day since launching in 1980. But on the one-year anniversary of the attack, audience members tuned into CNN’s rival network Fox. The Rupert Murdoch-run station collected the most watched ratings for the historic anniversary date.
CNN has found itself in hot water, not only because of two of its anchors’ questionable behavior and a few sex scandals but also because of the network’s boss. Jeff Zucker‘s personal life made headlines after Radar exposed his alleged affair with the cable giant’s Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Allison Gollust.
Their romance even got tangled up in Chris Cuomo‘s coverup mess.
But CNN’s head honcho’s relationship wasn’t the only bombshell that exploded on the network. Zucker was forced to fire Cuomo after discovering he helped cover his brother Andrew Cuomo‘s tracks amid the ex-New York Governor’s sexual harassment scandal.
The 51-year-old journalist was axed as the primetime anchor in December.
Attorney General Letitia James‘ office released a number of text messages that reportedly showed Cuomo helping Andrew strategize his response to the scandal. The CNN host was also accused of using his contacts and position at the network to bury his brother’s mess.
Following Cuomo’s firing, he was hit with his own sexual misconduct scandal.
Cuomo wasn’t the only on-camera talent whose actions came into question. Don Lemoncollected major backlash when former Empire star Jussie Smollett took the stand in his hate crime hoax trial, claiming the CNN host tipped him off that cops didn’t believe his story.
According to Smollett, Lemon had been told by a law enforcement source that Chicago Police Detectives were doubtful about Jussie’s attack on the night of January 29, 2019.
The host allegedly sent the text before Jussie was arrested on February 21.
Lemon later came out swinging, denying Smollett’s claims and branding the actor a “liar.” Don is also facing his own lawsuit after a man claimed the anchor sexually assaulted him at a bar.
