‘Being Nasty Sells!’ Chris Cuomo Goes OFF On Snarky Profane Coverage Of Powerful Segment With Tourette Influencer

NewsNation anchor Chris Cuomo went off on sensationalized coverage of his poignant and provocative interview with TikTok influencer Baylen Dupree, whose enormous following is helping raise awareness and acceptance of Tourette Syndrome.

During their interview Tuesday, Cuomo made some important choices, telling his audience that he would not censor the language that would pepper Ms. Dupree’s speech as a result of her condition — a relatively rare symptom of Tourette called coprolalia.

He also confessed his previous misunderstanding of Tourette, telling the audience, “I thought she was just a great comedic actor and, you know, doing blue material” — a relatable moment that invited the audience to shed their own preconceptions.

But it was Dupree who stole the segment by speaking frankly and with humor and grace about her condition, all while fighting through the symptoms that often lead to the stigma she’s trying to combat.

On Wednesday night’s edition of NewsNation’s Cuomo, the host shared his disgust with some of the coverage of the segment — but said he’s glad he could help deliver Baylen’s message:

Okay. Last night we did a story. Was a little dicey. People weren’t sure we could do it because there was going to be a lot of cursing and Dusty and I didn’t give a damn. 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 Syndrome. Too many are mean and judgy. People have shamed her and recorded her because she has unusual tics. You know what Tourette Syndrome is. Her tics are, like, phrases. They’re repeated and they’re often vulgar. Okay?

So Baylen decided, I’m not going to be held hostage by other people’s thoughts about me and judgments about me. She takes to TikTok to live her truth. She now has 9 million followers. She is getting paid for what some see as a problem. She is putting purpose to her pain. And I love all the coverage is getting, it is getting.

And the coverage shows us something. Dusty put up a couple of the headlines. Because it’s because I believe me, there’s a point here. All right.

Daily Mail are known for snark, “erupts with laughter as he interviews TikTok–”

And I believe that was saying that I was laughing at her. Right. That’s the suggestion. Why? Because that’s mean and mean is clickbait. And taking a bite out of my behind is what makes them money. But it’s also what feeds the instinct to be nasty in the first place. You see, this is what we are.

Here’s Dan Abrams’ outfit, alright, Mediaite. It makes it sound like what? Like someone went off on me on the show. And why do they even put up the asterisk? Use the words! If you’re going to distort what it’s about! “Oh, no, she did really say that!”

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. And by the way, most of what she said about me? True.

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. 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.

On Thursday, Cuomo and I discussed Mediaite’s coverage — which was carefully considered and informed by research and the personal experiences of our staff with the condition — and while we disagreed about the headline, Cuomo understood the intention of the story.

In a statement to Mediaite, Cuomo said “I don’t think the headline did me any favors, but if people read the Mediaite piece, they’ll see that the outlet was trying to do the same thing we were, which is giving a platform to someone who deserves the respect and to hopefully make people think before they mock.”

The original Mediaite headline displayed on Cuomo’s program — ‘F*ck Off. F*ck You, Chris’: Watch Chris Cuomo’s Stunning and Unforgettable Talk With Tourette’s Influencer — has been changed to include a different quote from the interview.

Watch above via NewsNation’s Cuomo.