He also defended guest Baylen Dupree for her language during the segment, saying, “It’s not intentional. And by the way, most of what she said about me, true.”
Chris Cuomo is coming to the defense of a TikToker who lives with Tourette syndrome, as well as an interview he did with her in which he laughed during one of her tics.
Cuomo spoke out on his NewsNation show Wednesday, after his interview with TikTok star Baylen Dupree the previous night went viral. Like many with Tourette’s, Dupree sometimes blurts out offensive words, which she did during her appearance — with Cuomo laughing a couple times during the segment.
Addressing some of negative attention surrounding their interview, including a headline accusing Cuomo of being “mean” by laughing at Dupree, Cuomo said, “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.”
He also fought back against a headline that suggested Dupree went off on him.
“The kid didn’t come on my show to curse at me,” Cuomo said. “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… Being nasty sells. And so people are nasty, and they’re nasty even when they got no damn right to be so. Baylen Dupree is living her life in opposition of that, and I love it.”
Even if you twisted it, thanks for covering it. pic.twitter.com/SbUOsa4Dg3
— Christopher C. Cuomo (@ChrisCuomo) December 14, 2023
@ChrisCuomo
Per the CDC, Tourette Syndrome (TS) causes people to have “tics.” “Tics are sudden twitches, movements, or sounds that people do repeatedly. People who have tics cannot stop their body from doing these things.”
While on the show, Dupree detailed living with Tourette’s and shared some of the daily struggles she comes up against, including the “mixed reactions” she receives from people online.
“I think there’s a lot more people that don’t understand what Tourette’s is, and they like to educate themselves more, and I also get people that have told me that my parents deserve to die in a car accident because of my condition,” Dupree said between tics.
On Tuesday’s episode, Cuomo praised her for candor and the content she posts on social media, telling the influencer she has his kids “repeating” her lines so much they’ve become cool. He added, “And not because it’s raunchy, it’s because you’re being yourself.”
Sharing the original segment on X, he added, “This is about respecting and laughing with, not at people.”