Thursday

March 28th, 2024

Insight

For CNN's Cuomo, it's now Fredo forever

John Kass

By John Kass

Published August 16, 2019

Like many American families that have Italian members, mine was at once horrified and confused by the recent terrifying outburst of CNN's Chris Cuomo on a viral video.

Cuomo was so angry about being called Fredo -- like the weak, sniveling brother in "The Godfather" -- that he said it was akin to using the N-word. Then he threatened to break the guy's bones.

"It's an insult to your (expletive) people. It's like the N-word for us," Cuomo said before threatening to throw the guy down the (expletive) stairs.

What Cuomo forgot to mention is all the times left-leaning CNN hosts and guests have used Fredo as an insult to Republicans. Even Cuomo used it in an interview with Curtis Sliwa, who had referred to the New York political family as "la Cuomo nostra." Cuomo responded, "Who am I then, Fredo?"

Yes, henceforth, you shall be known as Fredo Cuomo. No further questions, your honor, except for one thing: Is Fredo really the equivalent of the N-word?

All this prompted a lively discussion at the dinner table over what should have been veal saltimbocca the way it's done at Bruna's Ristorante on Oakley Avenue, with linguini on the side. Instead we had boring pork loin. Finally, my lovely Sicilian bride ended the discussion, her black eyes flashing.

"Cuomo?" Betty said. "All he wants is publicity. Who cares what that spacone (showoff) says? And don't quote me."

But honey, I'm a journalist, and as the political left grows crazier by the day, I'm bound to chronicle its crackup on the Intersectional Highway, where everything is about race and identity politics and more race. And Fredo.

Only a spacone would scream that he'd "throw you down these stairs like a (expletive) punk" for calling him Fredo and then saying Fredo was the N-word. And then not do anything at all.

In that crazy video gone wild, Fredo Cuomo displayed uncontrolled Fredo-like emotional outbursts. President Donald Trump's campaign is now reportedly selling T-shirts with Cuomo's photograph and the words, "Fredo Unhinged."

"One thing for sure," said reader Joseph Ferrone on Facebook, where folks debated it all. "His name is Fredo now."

Well, he could be called worse than Fredo, like Don Lemon's Fingers.

I defended Cuomo on Twitter, because he was out with his family and a guy got in his face and provoked him by calling him Fredo.

Don't provoke people, I always say.

And if I'd have been there with Cuomo, I'd have cooled things off by telling the provoker, "You did insult him a little bit."

Yet CNN has already authorized the use of Fredo as a perfectly acceptable insult. Then it was OK. Now it's not OK? Come on, CNN, what happened to being fair and balanced?

Many Americans of Italian descent are split on whether Cuomo should have been provoked, but on one thing they're clear: Calling a guy Fredo is not the same as using the N-word.

Down at the cigar store where the philosophers gather, I asked two Italian guys, Pete and Joe, who grew up in 100 percent Italian families, about it.

Joe doesn't say much, but he made it clear that of the two words, Fredo can be uttered out loud and the other shouldn't ever be said.

"Case closed," said Joe with a shrug.

Pete agreed that it wasn't a slur on all Italians.

"But anyone familiar with 'The Godfather' movies knows that being called a Fredo is worse than a slur," said Pete, listing off the other slurs that I won't use. "But being called Fredo means you're a back-stabbing piece of (deleted)!"

Perhaps, but just to be clear I called upon Raffaele Raia of Naples, my barber, whom I've just named as chairman of the Authentic Italian Club.

He's amused that so little about the real Italy is known in America. And he recommends that you watch "My Brilliant Friend" on HBO, saying that is truly authentic. I do, and I love it.

"Me too," Raia said. "It's authentic down to the dialect of that part of Naples. And it's not only about Mafia. It's about family, locals, who's cheating who, the neighborhood stories, the smart girls, it's all very original. You want to know about Italians? Look there."

If there's one thing that drives him crazy it's inauthentic Italian stuff. Like American journalists insisting that the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia made a vulgar gesture by flicking his own chin at a reporter rather than answer a question, outside church.

"It's like saying, literally, nothing," Raia said. "As in, if I ask you, 'You want more marinara sauce?' And you flick your chin, with the fingers, you're saying no, nothing, you don't want any. But that didn't stop journalists."

Also, inauthentic marinara sauce drives him crazy.

"Mare is the sea. And if there's not anchovy in it, it's not marinara sauce," he's told me a million times. "Make tomato sauce, call it what you want, but it's not marinara."

When I reached him, he was researching ways to make proper limoncello at home. He hadn't heard of the Fredo Cuomo business.

"In Italy nobody would care," Raia said. "You call someone Fredo? The name is Alfredo. People will shrug. If you get upset about being called Alfredo, they'll think you're crazy. This Fredo paranoia is an American Italian thing. He's worried about Fredo? That's his thing. But nobody in Italy would understand the man. They'd just look at him."

With pity.

Poor Fredo.

Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.

(COMMENT, BELOW)

John Kass is a columnist for the Chicago Tribune who also hosts a radio show on WLS-AM.

Columnists

Toons