CHRIS CUOMO Enraged After Guy Hurls Italian Slur ...

[mfcorey1]

CNN anchor Chris Cuomo went nuclear on a guy who called him a derogatory name, threatening to beat his ass.

Chris was in NY Sunday when a guy approached him and called him "Fredo" ... the insulting name of a character in "The Godfather" ... a name that connotes weakness.

Chris is from a proud Italian family and it set him off, challenging the man, threatening ... "I'll f***in' ruin your sh*t. I'll f***in' throw you down these stairs."

Cuomo told the guy ... the name "Fredo" is as offensive to Italians as the n-word is to African Americans

https://www.tmz.com/2019/08/12/chris-cuomo-threatens-man-who-hurled-italian-slur-fredo-at-him/

[a la izquierda]

1. Fredo is a slur?

I’ll have to ask my mom about that. Never once heard that as a kid. I mean, fine to react that way after being called a slur (of any sort)...but Chris Cuomo is just kinda odd though.

[yellerpup]

2. Fredo was a character in "The Godfather" film.

Fredo was a low-life loser. You probably wouldn't have heard it growing up.

[a la izquierda]

46. Weird. I heard other Italian American slurs...

But never that one.

[CTyankee]

57. Fredo was brilliantly played by John Cazale, a fine actor who was suffering from terminal cancer

during the filming. The director knew he was dying (see the last scene of his when he's talking to Michael but is lying down on a reclining chair) and shot his scenes around his ability to work that day. Cazale was constantly cared for by Meryl Streep with whom he was in love. She cared for him until the moment he died.

[yellerpup]

62. Thank you for that insight.

He gave a very memorable performance. I had no idea he was ill during shooting.

[fishwax]

71. It was actually The Deer Hunter that had to shoot around his illness

The Godfather was his first film; The Deer Hunter, his last, started filming just a few months after he was diagnosed. They shot all his scenes first, but he died before the film was released. As you say, he was in the constant care of Meryl Streep (his partner and a co-star in The Deer Hunter) throughout his illness.

He was an amazing talent. He only made five movies, each one a classic, each was nominated for multiple academy awards, and each a best picture nominee: The Godfather, The Godfather II, The Conversation, Dog Day Afternoon, and The Deer hunter. (Brief footage of Cazale from the first film appeared in The Godfather III, which was also nominated for best picture, fwiw.)

[CTyankee]

73. I guess the account that I read was wrong. Altho he looked sick in that scene with Michael

when he was lying in the recliner.

There was a recounting of Streep's devotion to Cazale in some show that gave her a tribute (Kennedy Center, Oscars ???).

Thanks for the correction.

[fishwax]

74. I think I remember that from one of the Streep tributes :)

I've read other accounts of her devotion as well. And there's a pretty interesting documentary (I Knew It Was You--good, but brief and focused only on his work) that I saw some time ago and enjoyed. I've loved all his work, but he's just so good in those godfather movies especially as the older brother who got passed over.

[Blue_true]

78. I think over time it has come to mean a weak Italian male.

So yes, it is racist because it singles out someone by their ethnic makeup.

[Clarity2]

87. I asked my husband

who is Italian, and a godfather affectionado what his first thought would be if I called him Fredo and he came up with “weakling” too. This is without knowing the cuomo backstory.

[defacto7]

88. I think you mean discrimination. Racism is about race, discrimination is about culture

ethnicity, sex, sexual preference or creed.

[Blue_true]

93. Thanks. I thought about the right word, but ended up using the wrong one.

Did Cuomo over-react? Most definitely, but it seemed that the word coming from the mouth of another person struck him wrong. A lot of Whites don't understand why the n-word is horrible coming from the mouth of a White person, but not so much when a Black person says it about himself or herself, or says it to another Black person.

[PoliticAverse]

111. You're wrong. I've seen it used several times against males who were not Italian...

In fact I've seen it used several times against members of the Trump family.

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=fredo

[Blue_true]

127. The n-word and b-word is used to describe people that are not Black or female.

That does nothing to disprove that it was pointed at one particular group and is intended to degrade that group.

I honestly have no remorse about people calling the Trumps names. With the exception of Baron, each has been observed to call individuals or groups names or question their patriotism, so fuck them and their feelings.

[Drahthaardogs]

79. It's equating Italian Americans to mafia stereotype

Yes, it's a slur. The largest mass lynching in America victims were Sicilian immigrants. Congress passed any immigration laws against Italy and Southern Europe.

Sound familiar,?

[radius777]

122. Agree, and a 'race traitor' in this context.

Trumpers are alt-right/white nationalists, and this guy likely used the slur 'Fredo' to imply Cuomo was disloyal to whites.

Cuomo shouldn't have overreacted though, as it will simply embolden the RW.

[FBaggins]

96. It isn't

It’s a light insult (to anyone... not specifically Italians)

It certainly isn’t an ethnic slur.

[Drahthaardogs]

107. It's calling him mafia

Which is a horrible slur. It's something the Sons of Italy fight how Italians are stereotyped.

[PCIntern]

3. Good for him...

I don’t blame him for going off. I’ve done that on the street: I was walking past a fur shop on Walnut Street here in Philly where An animal rights group was demonstrating. I had no problem with that , I’m kind of with them. A older Jewish woman, wearing a fur was being accosted, and some miscreant used the K word. I told him to get the fuck out of the lady’s way with his foul mouth or I’d take him out right there. He’d never heard my booming voice before and that scared the crap out of him more than my moderate physical presence. I was calling him every name in the book and his buddies were cowed. I walked the lady to the corner and made sure she was ok. I told her I wasn’t thrilled with furs but she had a right to walk the streets safely and unencumbered. Furs are not illegal last I looked. She was very upset and never wanted to wear it again. I suggested that that might be a good idea for various reasons particularly with all the aggressive people out there.

There is something about ethnic intimidation that gets to you on a fundamental level.

[edbermac]

4. That's odd, Eric Trump is called Fredo.

Guido was the slur when I was growing up.

[TreasonousBastard]

5. Tough to keep up, isn't it? Maybe there should be a "slur of the day" site out there...

emailing, tweeting, or texting us when a new one shows up.

[oldsoftie]

7. And even that wasnt like the N-word

[Polybius]

21. Guido isn't a slur

It's more of an act and a way of life. Like on Jersey Shore, those are guidos. Not every Italian is a guido. I'm Italian and not guido. And not every guido is even Italian. Look at Snooki.

[meow2u3]

26. But the other g-bomb is a slur against Italians

...and that g-bomb is otherwise known as a guinea, which is to Italians as the n-bomb is to black people.

[Celerity]

91. except it is related at its very core strictly to anti-black racism

A guinea is short for guinea negro, and implies that they (the Italian) are part black (especially the ones with darker skin.) They go bonkers. The irony is, many of the southern Italians actually do have partial African lineages from way back, especially the Sicilians.

[Drahthaardogs]

98. Sicilians have Carthaginian and Moorish genes

Dalmatia was a Roman holding now modern Libya. The Moors held Sicily twice in history. There is not sub-Sarah genes represented in Sicilian genome as you imply.

You just perpetuated another stupid italian stereotype.

[EarnestPutz]

106. Modern Libya? Like on the North African Coast? Roman Dalmatia, like the modern....

....Dalmatian Coast, is the Adriatic coastline of Croatia.

[Drahthaardogs]

108. As in Pannonia, Tripolaetana,

Under Roman times, the rule African Illyricum

[EarnestPutz]

110. Just Googled both of those. Found out that Pannonia was a Roman Province...

...Northeast of Dalmatia and not on the coast. Google has nothing on Tripolaetana.

[Drahthaardogs]

112. Tripolaetana is modern Libya, not Dalmatia

All of Roman holdings in Africa were called Libya. The Moors and Carthageneans , Egyptians, Iranians, etc all came through the Eastern Roman Empire and blended genetically. The point was the idea that sub Saharan Africa is not representative of African genes in Sicily. That's more Hollywood bullshit, once again from a mafia reference. I believe Dennis Leary was the actor who said it

[EarnestPutz]

124. Two quotes. "Dalmatia was a Roman holding now modern Libya" and "Tripolaetana is modern Libya...

Last edited Wed Aug 14, 2019, 04:25 PM - Edit history (1)

....not Dalmatia". Your quotes. Someone else has said that you don't seem to know "history, genetics, or geography" very well,your grammar and punctuation also add to the confusion.

[Celerity]

115. No I did not, and you seem to not know history, genetics, nor geography well

You also seem awfully concerned about distancing Sicilians from ANY traces of Sub-Saharan African lineage, going so far as to imply it would be a negative (stereotype), as if partial sub-Saharan African genetics (which I myself have) is something 'bad.'.

Now, to your mistakes:

The Roman province of Dalmatia was nowhere near Libya.

It was in the Balkans, around 1500-2000 plus kilometres away via a treacherous (ask the Romans how dangerous just crossing the Adriatic is from eastern Italy) sea and/or land voyage.



The present day Libyan territory, under Roman rule and after the destruction of Carthage at the end of the 3rd and final Punic War, was divided into multiple controlling areas with names such as Tripolitania, Numidia (which controlled the Western part for a period of time, and was eventually subsumed into Africa Nova), Cyrenaica (which was linked to Crete as a unified province for a period of time, Creta et Cyrenaica), Africa Proconsularis (again, some of the Western part of present day Libya),and Mamarica on the Egyptian border. Towards the end of the Roman Empire, Cyrenaica became known as Libya Superior, and Mamarica as Libya Inferior.

As for Sub-Saharan genetics in Sicily, you yourself just typed one of the 2 main genetic sources, the 'Moors',who had partial Nubian and Ethiopian genotypes from 3 sources, the Berbers (who are the original 'Moors' and had sub-Saharan partial genetics), from intermarriage, and also from children produced from the slave trade(which had a sub Saharan component). The same for the other, the Carthaginians, who were an admixture between the Semitic, non Sub-Saharan Phoenicians, the local pre-existing North Africans (including Berbers again), then through occasional Nubian and Ethiopian intermarriage, and also,finally, progeny produced from the slave trade (which again,included some sub Saharan Africans.)

[Drahthaardogs]

119. And you seem hell bent to perpetuate

A bullshit stereotype that came from, once again, a mafia movie.

[Celerity]

120. I said nothing about the Fredo remark

You must have me confused with another poster.

[EarnestPutz]

126. Your response was very nicely done and the map is very interesting.

Never heard of Moesia (Superior or Inferior), still don't know what he meant by "Tripolaetana", and your explanation about the genetics of North Africans is pretty definitive. My people came from the Dalmation Coast (then part of the Autro-Hungarian empire) and I was not disappointed, or surprised, to find some North African with my recent genetic testing.

[dflprincess]

102. And not every Fredo is Italian

look at the Trump brothers, the term works for either one of them.

[flyingfysh]

125. When I hear "Guido", it immediately suggests to me a classic Fellini film

In the Fellini masterpiece "Eight and a Half", the main character (played by Marcello Mastroianni) is named Guido. He is a film director who is trying to decide what to do with his next film, which is shaping up to become an expensive, confused failure.

The film is highly recommended. See it if you haven't seen it yet. The easiest way is to subscribe to the Criterion Channel, or go online to criterionchannel.com

[George II]

22. Three things:

1. eric trump isn't Italian
2. I doubt anyone called him that to his face
3. he's probably too stupid to even know that it's an insult

[oldsoftie]

6. Sorry, Chris, "fredo" is nowhere NEAR the N-word. Its insulting that you'd equate the two.

the guy shouldve tossed YOU down the stairs

[JHB]

9. Not even the W-word is near the N-word, and it's a hell of a lot closer than "Fredo"

[oldsoftie]

32. I agree. I was afraid to refer to it that way;

[sharedvalues]

14. oldsoftie. You're echoing Republican talking points. Why?

You’re saying the same thing Breitbart is. And not only that you’re defending the right winger attacking Cuomo.

???????

[oldsoftie]

29. Horseshit. I'm not a damn shill, & anyone who equates "Fredo" with the N-word is a damn fool

I dont give a shit what Breitbart says. If they told you your house was on fire would you ignore them?
For Gods sake what has HAPPENED to this place.

[customerserviceguy]

80. Don't worry about it

when someone here can't rationally argue their point of view, they often fall back on the canard, "Republican talking points".

[oldsoftie]

84. Thank you. And you're absolutely right.

I noticed NONE of the other Italians on this thread thought it was the same either

[customerserviceguy]

103. I had never heard the term

until this morning, even though I saw at least the first two Godfather movies. Mr. Cuomo seems to be rather agitated.

Hey, at least you weren't called a "Russian bot"!

[Drahthaardogs]

85. As an Italian American

I think you don't know what the fuck you are talking about. As noted above, from 1920 until we were deemed "white" there was institutionalized racism against Italians in this country up to and including the largest mass lynching in this country and anti immigration laws.

Calling Cuomo Fredo was calling him mafia, which is indeed a slur among Italians.

[oldsoftie]

89. I'm also an Italian American. And its still NOTHING like the N-word.

My grandfather was forced to work sewing in a sweatshop even though he was an architect, my grandmother couldnt even GET a job because of her name. They were called every word in the book back then. But if you think we or our families had it as bad as blacks did as a whole, YOU dont know what the fuck you're talking about. And the Godfather was a damn movie. "Fredo" was a weakling; Cuomo was more likely being called a weakling, not a mafioso. being called weak would be a bigger insult & thats why he lost it.
You seem to be the only Italian on this thread who lets it get to you. Fine; thats your right. I dont give a shit about being called Fredo or anything else. Dont give the word any power & it becomes meaningless
As someone else posted, Cuomo should've said "that all ya got?" END of that guys 15 mins. Now the idiot will be famous.

[Drahthaardogs]

92. Do you even speak? Have you ever been?

Being equated to mafia is an awful slur. Are you a member of the sons of Italy?

There is a problem in this country when the race that rivals China for the greatest in history can only be shown as criminals. It's not calling him stupid, it's calling him mafia that is the slur.

[RandiFan1290]

68. Wouldn't be the first time. nt

[AncientGeezer]

113. Cuomo has referred to himself as Fredo in a radio interview with Curtis Sliwa

[whathehell]

94. I'd agree, but Cuomo's error is hardly so great as to

justify the bigot's throwing him down the stairs.

All "white people" are not treated equally, and they have every right to defend themselves against insult.

[oldsoftie]

95. You're right.

But i think had cuomo done anything physically to the idiot, HE would be the one in trouble. I doubt the law allows you to punch someone who called you a name.

[whathehell]

118. That's. true..

Violence is unlawful in either situation.

[4139]

8. He took the bait, rw will be chanting Fraaa-dooo where ever he goes.

[cwydro]

10. Yeah, that was a bit of an over reaction, especially considering his daughter was with him.

I like Chris, but maybe cut back on the steroid use there buddy.

[oldsoftie]

30. OUCH!!

[Laura PourMeADrink]

42. Just saw this. Wow, my immediate reaction is what??

Can't believe Cuomo is speaking like this. He always seemed so mild mannered and calm to me.

[customerserviceguy]

104. Yes, he's

teaching her such lovely language.

[Roy Rolling]

11. Yep

In an attempt to establish “Fredo” as an ethnic slur, Cuomo demonstrates the fragility of media manipulation.

Instead of faux tolerance of Italians, he’s created a real world tool for the right-wing to further mock people.

Who’d have known media manipulation was so difficult?

[George II]

40. I don't think they will. Believe it or not, even Sean Hannity defended Cuomo!!!

I fell on the floor when I read that.

Link to tweet

[Laura PourMeADrink]

43. Where is this anyway? In a tent of some sort?

[George II]

44. It could be an outdoor restaurant or even at a tent set up at a mall.

[True Dough]

51. Definite backfire

Cuomo Fredo is trending on social media. He'll have a hard time disassociating himself from that term for a while.

[barbtries]

12. that's an overstatement in my opinion.

actually, a grotesque understatement.

italians were treated badly in this country and called names, none of which were Fredo before the godfather came along. more importantly, they were never slaves, and they came here voluntarily.

[sharedvalues]

13. Chris is awesome. He handled this well.

With foolish aggressive men like this, you have to get in their face and yell back. It’s the only thing they understand. Dominance is he only thing they understand.

[cwydro]

28. Disagree. He totally let that guy get in his head.

Acting like a middle schooler.

He should have laughed it off or made a comment to show the guy for the fool he is.

[sharedvalues]

70. To Democrats it appeared dumb. To Repubs it was good.

The left and the right have different communication styles.

The left typically has creative and thoughtful personalities and like measured, reasoned, judicious debate.
The right typically has authoritarian-leaning personalities and like dominance, anger and emotion. (This is why Kavanaugh’s yelling played well with Republicans.)

We often make the mistake of talking to rightwingers the way we want to be spoken to. Which doesn’t work. To reach the right, you need to speak with emotion.

Much of the Fox crowd was impressed by Cuomo even as we are turned off. So don’t worry.

[phylny]

15. Italian here. To equate the two words

is what’s awful. The slurs are not the same.

We used to be called dagos and wops. I never reacted but to smile slightly. Using those words said nothing about me and everything about the person using them.

[MissKat]

24. The word "dago" actually came from the name Diego

As a writer I was doing a story set in the 50s. The story involved an Italian girl. At any rate, I wanted to get to the bottom of understanding where the word "dago" came from. It goes back to earlier days when proper white people were upset with these darker skinned folks coming on shore, many of them of Spanish heritage. The proper white people started referring to all of them, regardless of origin, as "Diego" or "dagos".
My father used to call Italians, "guinias" which I never understood. Came to find out that was the term used for Italians who'd married an African and produced their child, a "guinia".
In Pittsburgh, Hungarian mill workers were called "hunkies". Germans, "krauts". On and on and on it goes.

All of these words have origins and those who the insult is hurled at have a right to feel offended. Because words do hurt.

So I will ask, if being politically correct is actually being polite and respecting another's feelings-- what is being politically incorrect? And what is the best response? Verbal threats? Actual violence? I think Chris Cuomo put on a show and I'm not sure it will turn out all that well for him.

Stay tuned.

[Drahthaardogs]

83. I suggest you watch Pane Amaro

There was institutionalized racism against Italians in this country including lynching. Theodore Roosevelt called it "a good thing".

If you had experienced it perhaps you would understand his reaction. It's not "politically correct", it's bigotry.

The Sons of Italy routinely fight Italian stereotype.

Ask yourself this, why are the people who built the greatest civilization ever, ruled the world (something the Germans couldn't do) for 1000 years, led the Renaissance, gave us our system of government, and boast of many of the greatest scientist in history always displayed as two-bit thugs in Hollywood?

You need to do some research if you think this is about "politically correct".

[djg21]

109. Dago etymology and the Wandering Dago

‘Dago’ may be derived from employers hiring immigrants fresh off the ships and paying them as 'the day goes.’

The Cuomos seem to be thin-skinned when it comes to their ancestry, or something.

ALBANY — A Capital Region food truck as notable for its controversial name as for its fusion barbecue fare scored a significant victory at the end of a years-long legal battle with Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration, which had banned the Wandering Dago from serving its offerings on the Empire State Plaza.

https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Wandering-Dago-prevails-in-federal-court-12471858.php

[DeminPennswoods]

33. Without passport

is my understanding of the genesis of "wop".

[phylny]

38. Could be, I had heard "without papers." nt

[DeminPennswoods]

39. same difference, I think

nt

[Blue_true]

86. Essentially the same thing.

Ellis Island is basically a romantic farce. The ancestors of the vast majority of White Americans came here without papers or any border documentation. It was easier in those days to pay someone in government to look the other way. Plus immigrants took backbreaking jobs that killed a lot of them, the lot was not remotely as bad as that of slaves though.

[fishwax]

72. more likely it came from "guappo"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guappo

[Celerity]

121. +10000

this is correct

'without papers' is a false etymology

[DVRacer]

16. So much stupid by both of them

If anything Chris should be called Sonny not Fredo. You know the hot headed big mouth always looking for a fight. Which was used against him and led to his demise. I listen to Chris on XM’s POTUS he seems to allow his emotions to take over logic at times much like Sonny.

[dlk]

17. There's Really No Comparison Between the History of Those Two Words, However...

...it was apparently, offensive to Cuomo. I would venture a guess there's more to this story.

[Javaman]

18. I'm Sicilian and Fredo isn't a slur.

I thought it was something really bad. I can rattle off quite a few that I have heard and have been called in my life, but Fredo?

sorry Mario, but Fredo, really?

I would have laughed in the guys face and said, "is that the best you got?"

[oldsoftie]

31. And THAT would have been a GREAT comeback. Instead, he looks like a fool.

[themaguffin]

19. I've called trump Fredo for years. It sucks this happens. Cuomo will enable a narrative

[underpants]

20. Rush Limbaugh

I don’t know if started it but he calls Cuomo Fredo all the time.

[George II]

23. Never to his face.

[montana_hazeleyes]

27. I'd pay to see that!

[NewJeffCT]

25. I'm half Italian

While Fredo is bad, it's nowhere near the level of the N word

[rollin74]

34. Cuomo gave that guy's insult 1,000x more power with his overreaction

not a good way to handle it

[DeminPennswoods]

35. An overreaction for sure

and made Cuomo look like a complete hothead.

[George II]

36. Here's the complete video. Cuomo is 100% right, especially when the guy challenged him...

...to touch him. "What, so you can sue?"

Even, sit down folks, Sean Hannity defended Cuomo!!!

Link to tweet

[cwydro]

41. And now it's all over the news, and people know the guy got in his head.

Stupid. He should have laughed and walked away.

[AncientGeezer]

48. Cuomo has referred to himself as Fredo in a radio interview with Curtis Sliwa

[melman]

53. Ryan Saavedra

"Reporter at @realDailyWire."



Why are you posting tweets from this Daily Wire guy?

[George II]

56. At the time it was the only source for the complete 1:47 video. Is the video false?

I posted that almost six hours ago, and this discussion has gotten over 3,000 views - only you have a problem with it.

[melman]

58. "the only source for the complete 1:47 video"

There's a reason for that.

[George II]

59. No there isn't.

[melman]

61. Okay

"THAT'S THE POINT with Brandon" provided his full video to Ryan Saavedra by accident.


Okay.

[George II]

63. lol.

[melman]

64. Right

Totally a coincidence that the next tweet is this...




Brandon provides the exclusive video. Ryan Saavedra gets red meat to tweet out to his 298K followers.

...and in return, Brandon (who no one's ever heard of,) gets all his links promoted...to Ryan Saavedra's 298k followers.

Total coincidence. All of it. I mean it's not like they coordinated it. Not at all!

[George II]

45. donnie jr. spoke up, and this has already surfaced!

Link to tweet

[OnlinePoker]

47. Fredo is the weakling brother of the Corleone family

This insulter was calling Chris the weakling of the Cuomo family compared to his brother. It was not a racial slur.

[LanternWaste]

50. I don't think the one denies the other...

[OnlinePoker]

54. He allowed someone to use the term on his show about Trump Jr. and never blinked.

If a white person called another person the N word on his show, he would justifiably have been freaking out about it. The fact that he takes offense at the term Fredo when it's directed against him and tries to claim racism is ridiculous.

[oldsoftie]

99. Really? I wasnt aware of that. Are there any clips?

That would be a ton of hypocrisy.

[OnlinePoker]

105. Here, from CNN's Youtube channel

They're trying to say that somehow this doesn't make him a hypocrite, but don't say why.

[AncientGeezer]

49. Cuomo has referred to himself as Fredo in a radio interview with Curtis Sliwa

[Aristus]

52. If people keep calling him 'Fredo', isn't he going to get a reputation for

banging cocktail waitresses two at a time?

[tenderfoot]

55. Fredo isn't a slur... this coming from an Italian

Having said that, I think Cuomo's an ass and his show sucks. Neither he or his brother are fit to eat from the same bowl of fruit as their dad Mario.

[RhodeIslandOne]

100. Are we sure he didn't think the guy said the G-word?

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

60. I've received many offensive comments because I don't 'look' Italian

I'm Italian born and raised. According to 23 And Me, I'm 64% Italian. But ever since moving to the U.S., when I told people I am Italian, the comments - including from people who describe themselves as very liberal - are always the same... "You don't look Italian!"

I find that very offensive. What are Italians supposed to look like? I guess many Americans view Italians stereotypically and, while the great majority of Italian immigrants to the U.S. do fit a certain 'stereotype' in looks, the whole of Italy is quite diverse.

I'm very pale complected and my natural hair color is strawberry blonde. I have plenty of people in my family who have green or blue eyes, blonde hair, or red hair. You can see this variation throughout Italy.

I find the moniker 'Fredo' a bit offensive, as if someone called me Guido or wop or mafiosa. But I certainly wouldn't equate none of these nouns to the N word.

[MustLoveBeagles]

75. I'm sorry that happened to you

My uncle by marriage is Italian but is fair skinned with light blonde hair and blue eyes. I don't blame Cuomo for being mad but comparing Fredo to the N word is a stretch.

[BlueStater]

65. I'm a quarter Italian.

Gotta be honest, I've never heard of "Fredo" being used as a slur for Italians or people of Italian heritage. I've never seen any of the Godfather films and the first time I ever heard "Fredo" was as a nickname for Trump's wanker son.

[Blue_true]

90. You really, really should set aside a weekend to watch the Godfather Part I and II.

III was so-so, IMO. Part I is a bit hard to understand at first, why would anyone shoot at a funeral procession or a mother beg for the life of her young son. But once you have watched both and came back to restart the first, you should really start to appreciate the artistry and precision of movie making that Coppola did with those films. Among the all time classic films, IMO.

[albacore]

66. NOT Italian myself.... but I grew up with Italians.

In my neighborhood, an Italian guy like Chris would have said some shit and then...BADA-BOOM...popped the guy right in the face.
Chris held off admirably.

[LuckyCharms]

67. Italian on both sides here. Fredo is not an N word equivalent, but it is most

definitively a slur. However I don't believe it to be an *ethnic* slur unless it is being used as such lately.

Fredo is usually used to call someone an incompetent loser, regardless of heritage.

I was glad to see Cuomo stand up for himself, but to determine if it was warranted from my view, I would have to see what happened before the video.

Unfortunately, Cuomo did himself no favors. You and I could respond like that with little or no repercussions, but he is a well known personality, so his reaction will probably backfire on him and he will become a Fredo meme.

Because that is what the world has become, a society of memes and shallow thought (present company excluded).

[MustLoveBeagles]

81. It already has

See Post 69.

[brooklynite]

69. UPDATE: Trump Campaign now selling "Fredo Unhinged" shirts...

Link to tweet

[MustLoveBeagles]

76. I'll put on my tinfoil hat for a moment

I think this confrontation was a set up. I think the jerk who hassled Cuomo did this hoping he would react negatively so he could shop the confrontation to conservative outlets.

[oldsoftie]

97. Never miss an opportunity to lower the bar further!

[TexasBushwhacker]

101. I doubt they Chris's permission to use his likeness n/t

[NCLefty]

77. This is a DISTRACTION from Trump. TMZ... pff.

[Throck]

82. You learn to suck it up and take the high ground around your kids.

Teach your kids how to control your temper around idiots.

[cwydro]

128. This.

[xmas74]

114. I heard a redneck say

"F@ck that Fredo" in reference to an Italian coworker. Another coworker nudged him, looked at me and reminded him that my name is very Italian. The response? Wanted to know if my middle name was Mary and if I can make a lasagne or if my father knew where to get electronics "off the back of a truck".

It's not as disgusting as some slurs but it's definitely meant to get a rise.

[912gdm]

117. uhh, that been a joke on here about jr

seriously, lots of gif and memes here reffed jr as Fredo

[hughee99]

123. I think we can all agree that it's wrong to harass famous people

Out in public like this... unless they’re republican.