What to Know
- Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo had his International Emmy award for his once-daily televised briefings on the coronavirus pandemic that killed tens of thousands rescinded following his sexual harassment scandal and subsequent resignation.
- In a statement, the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences said in part: "His name and any reference to his receiving the award will be eliminated from International Academy materials going forward."
- Cuomo was honored in November 2020 with the academy’s Founders Award for using his briefings to inform and calm the public. Previous recipients include former Vice President Al Gore, Oprah Winfrey, and director Steven Spielberg.
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo had his International Emmy award for his once-daily televised briefings on the coronavirus pandemic that killed tens of thousands rescinded following his sexual harassment scandal and subsequent resignation.
In a statement, the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences said: "The International Academy announced today that in light of the New York Attorney General’s report, and Andrew Cuomo’s subsequent resignation as Governor, it is rescinding his special 2020 International Emmy Award. His name and any reference to his receiving the award will be eliminated from International Academy materials going forward."
The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, whose members include media and entertainment figures from over 60 countries and 500 companies, initially presented the award to the Democratic governor in a live-streamed show in November 2020.
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Cuomo was honored with the academy’s Founders Award for using his briefings to inform and calm the public. Previous recipients include former Vice President Al Gore, Oprah Winfrey, and director Steven Spielberg.
“The governor’s 111 daily briefings worked so well because he effectively created television shows, with characters, plot lines, and stories of success and failure,” International Academy President & CEO Bruce L. Paisner said at the time. “People around the world tuned in to find out what was going on, and New York tough became a symbol of the determination to fight back.”
Cuomo used his more than 100 Powerpoint-driven slideshows and his sometimes emotional, sometimes acerbic style to provide daily updates and detail his administration’s efforts to shutter the economy and avoid predictions of as many as 100,000 people hospitalized at once.
The pandemic peaked in early-to-mid April 2020, when over 18,000 people were hospitalized at once and hospitals and nursing homes reported as many as 800 deaths in one day.
The former governor gained national attention last spring for his daily, televised news briefings which he used to answer barrages of questions from journalists about the COVID-19 pandemic as well as calm fears during the peak of the state's outbreaks at a time when many felt the federal government was not doing enough.
But after months of easy access, the governor’s sudden refusal to allow reporters to freely question him rankled media outlets earlier this year.
His withdrawal from view comes as the state attorney general’s office, federal prosecutors and the state Assembly’s judiciary committee investigated allegations that Cuomo abused his power to sexually harass women and withhold data about COVID-19 deaths among nursing home residents.
The sexual harassment investigation ultimately found that he allegedly harassed 11 women and ultimately forced him to resign. He has denied the allegations.
