chris cuomo
CNN anchor Chris Cuomo is facing backlash after suggesting that calling an Italian "Fredo" is equivalent to the N-word.

Cuomo, 49, made the comparison after someone called him "Fredo," a reference to the weak character from The Godfather.

"No, punk-ass b--ches from the Right call me 'Fredo.' My name is Chris Cuomo. I'm an anchor on CNN," the newsman said. "'Fredo' was from The Godfather. He was a weak brother and they use that as an Italian slur — are any of you Italian?"

"It's a f---ing insult to your people. It's an insult to your f---ing people. It's like the N-word for us," He added.

While many on social media have differed on whether or not Cuomo responded appropriately, he was condemned widely for comparing the name to the N-word.

Conservative pundit Ben Shapiro tweeted that he thought "the guy was being a jerk" to Cuomo, but "there's just no way calling someone Fredo Corleone is like the n-word."

Similarly, former National Rifle Association spokeswoman Dana Loesch mocked Cuomo by remembering that he also insisted "fake news" is "as bad as the N word."

Donald Trump Jr. tweeted that Cuomo "grotesquely compar[ed] 'Fredo' to the N word."

Fox News host Sean Hannity, by contrast, defended Cuomo, arguing that the man who called him Fredo "is being a jackass in front of [Cuomo's] family" and that Cuomo "has zero to apologize for," though he did not address the comparison itself.