NewsNation host Chris Cuomo defended his interview earlier this week of TikTok star Baylen Dupree, emphasizing that he was laughing with her and also taking issue with how some media outlets covered the interaction.
Cuomo was criticized for appearing to giggle and then subsequently hide his reaction during the interview, which at times included uncontrolled profanity by Dupree.
On X Thursday, Cuomo posted a link to a clip from their conversation, writing: “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!”
On Tuesday’s edition of Cuomo, the namesake host described Dupree’s videos on social media as “a beautiful demonstration of turning pain into purpose.” He also led into the interview by explaining his occasional reaction to Dupree:
“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, and the difference matters.”
“I love the bravery and I love that we can get through the stigma and just treat somebody with decency, because we all deserve it,” he said.
Dupree, who has 9.1 million followers on TikTok, said that she wants people to understand that not everyone with Tourette’s swears.
“People think that cussing is with everyone who has Tourette syndrome, but it’s only in 10 percent of people with Tourette’s,” she explained.
She also described the effect her videos have had on others.
“I get thousands of DMs from parents, from teachers, from girls that have been diagnosed with Tourette’s and they’ve had to be kicked out of school for attention seeking because they rip up their homework or do things like that,” she said. “I’ve had parents reach out to me asking me, ‘Oh, my son’s coming home with a girlfriend and his girlfriend has Tourette Syndrome.’”
Cuomo further defended his interview on his Wednesday night broadcast.
“Last night, we did a story. It was a little dicey. People weren’t sure we could do it because there was going to be a lot of cursing, and [executive producer Alexandra Cohen] and I didn’t give a damn,” the former CNN anchor said. “And we were right. Why? Baylen Dupree has gone viral, and for 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 continued, showing headlines from the Daily Mail and from Mediaite, both of which he said didn’t treat it fairly. 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 said.
“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,” he concluded.
“And Baylen Dupree is living her life in opposition to that, and I love it. And she’s welcome here whenever she wants, and I can’t wait to see what she does next. Thank you for responding, and to the media, even if you twisted it, thank you for covering it.”
