‘Being nasty sells’: Chris Cuomo responds to backlash for laughing while interviewing TikToker with Tourette’s

NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo found himself in the centre of a controversy when he allegedly laughed at TikToker Baylen Dupree, who has Tourette syndrome while taking her interview.

Veteran anchor Chris Cuomo.(REUTERS)

Dupree, with an impressive following of 9.1 million on TikTok, advocates for Tourette’s syndrome, a condition affecting the nervous system, leading to sudden, repeated outbursts known as “tics.” The interview took an unexpected turn as Dupree’s tics manifested in involuntary profanities, causing Cuomo to break into smiles and, at one point, hide his laughter behind his hands.

Stay tuned with breaking news on HT Channel on Facebook. Join Now

Chris Cuomo started the interview with a disclaimer for viewers and said, “She says some pretty ugly stuff unintentionally, and I’m laughing because I get what it’s about and that’s why I don’t care. It’s not curse words to be mean.”

“Go f–k yourself, Chris! Little baby weiner, Banana up your ass! Butter your own biscuit, fat ass!” Dupree said. “F–k that bitch,” Dupree said to him during one of her outbursts. This incident was covered by media platforms as Cuomo laughing on a person with Tourette’s syndrome.

Cuomo defended his interview during 13 December’s broadcast stating, “Baylen Dupree has gone viral, and for a good reason. We love giving a platform for her to fight the stigma of having Tourette’s syndrome.”

“I love all the coverage it is getting, and the coverage shows us something,” Cuomo pulled up headlines from the Daily Mail and Mediaite. The former read, “Chris Cuomo erupts with laughter as he interviews TikToker with Tourette’s and she repeatedly tells him to ‘f-k off,’” while the latter read, “‘F-k off, f-you, Chris Cuomo:’ Watch Chris Cuomo’s stunning and unforgettable talk with Tourette’s influencer.”

“It makes it sound like someone went off on me on the show…. No, the kid didn’t come on my show to curse at me. It’s a tic. It’s not a quote. It’s not intentional,” he added.

“So it shows that that’s our inclination: Being nasty sells. And so people are nasty and they’re nasty even when they got no damn right to be so,” the NewsNation host said.

He concluded by saying, “Thank you for responding, and to the media, even if you twisted it, thank you for covering it.”

“This is about respecting and laughing with, not at people…tics from Tourette do not define someone…I love that she is popular and proving that she can do it all! Great things to come!” Cuomo shared on X, reinforcing his support for Dupree’s mission.

What is Tourette Syndrome?

Tourette syndrome, as described by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is a nervous system condition characterized by tics – sudden, involuntary twitches, movements, or sounds. Dupree, during the interview, aimed to dispel misconceptions about Tourette’s, emphasizing that not everyone with the syndrome swears.

“I get thousands of DMs from parents, from teachers, from girls that have been diagnosed with Tourette’s,” Dupree said. Her videos have become a source of support for individuals with Tourette’s, fostering understanding and breaking down stereotypes.