Chris Cuomo is the host of the prime time cable news show “Cuomo Prime Time”, which airs weeknights on CNN. More often than not, Cuomo covers the news. But sometimes, he is the news.
A video of Cuomo lifting what is pretty obviously, almost undoubtedly, a fake 100-pound dumbbell in his office went viral in early September. With improper form and an absolute disregard for the laws of physics, Cuomo is overhead pressing and bicep curling the alleged 100-pound dumbbell emblazoned with “#LetsGetAfterIt”. You can check out the video below.
Editor’s note: This article is an op-ed. The views expressed herein and in the video are the author’s and don’t necessarily reflect the views of BarBend. Claims, assertions, opinions, and quotes have been sourced exclusively by the author.
Little did Cuomo anticipate the absolute rage he would evoke from the lifting community — and with that rage, an onslaught of totally warranted and not at all exaggerated reactions to this blatant attempt at comedy. This isn’t the first time that Cuomo has made headlines.
In August of 2019, a patron at a Shelter Island, NY bar called Cuomo “Fredo” — a reference to “The Godfather” character. The CNN host took the remark as an insult, and a slew of expletives and threats of physical confrontation ensued.
He also made headlines when he contracted COVID-19 and hosted “Cuomo Prime Time” from his basement while in quarantine. Not only did Cuomo’s diagnosis make its way into the news, so did the fact that he was getting his pump on in that basement by lifting some serious iron. Breaking news: the dude is jacked.
As a pandemic ravages the world and the impending doom of climate change inches closer, of course the question of whether or not Chris Cuomo’s 100-pound dumbbell is real is trending. What’s even funnier than the anchor’s antics is the controversy it has stirred up in the lifting community.
Generation Iron weighed the lightheartedness versus the potential disrespect that the video launches on serious gym-goers. And bodybuilder Marc Lobliner went as far as to call Cuomo out on his YouTube channel.
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“If you are a part of the lifting community or know anybody who is, there’s one thing we hate — and that’s when you fake it,” Lobliner said in the video. “I’m confident that those are fake dumbbells, and I’m also willing to bet Chris Cuomo $1,000 that he can’t sit at a desk, holding a 100-pound dumbbell [while] typing.”
Lobliner then demonstrates that Cuomo is lying by sitting upright on a weight bench (without back support), mock typing, and holding increasingly heavy dumbbells over his head. He couldn’t lift the 100-pounder, so obviously he doesn’t think Cuomo can either. Then, he questioned how anyone could trust Cuomo’s news show if he is the type of guy to lie about lifting 100 pounds. After all, who among us has not judged someone’s integrity by how much they can legitimately lift?
Even podcaster, comedian, carnivore diet enthusiast Joe Rogan had something to say about Cuomo-gate. Below is a clip of Rogan earnestly discussing whether or not the perhaps obviously fake 100-pound dumbbell is, in fact, real (the discussion starts at 1:45):
Rogan analyzed the video of Cuomo lifting the potentially real 100-pound dumbbell saying:
That’s real. That’s a real weight. Whether or not it weighs 100 pounds — it might weigh 100 pounds.
During the assessment of the video, Rogan recalled a story of an Italian guy he knew when he was younger who was very strong. The guy could curl his body weight 10 times. Ultimately, Rogan deduced that Cuomo could likely press a 100-pound dumbbell since Rogan himself can press a 92-pound kettlebell.
The world may never know the truth about the authenticity of Cuomo’s dumbbell antics. We can only hope that when this controversy reaches Cuomo’s desk, he can turn to his whiteboard outlining the segments for his show and say, “Let’s get after it.”
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Feature image from Chris Cuomo’s Facebook page.
