The 2020 International Emmy given to Andrew Cuomo for his Covid-19 briefings was apparently only good while the Democrat served as governor of New York. Less than a day after his resignation went into effect, it was revoked.
On Tuesday, the New York-based International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences announced that “in light of the New York Attorney General’s report, and Andrew Cuomo’s subsequent resignation as Governor, it is rescinding his special 2020 International Emmy Award.”
“His name and any reference to his receiving the award will be eliminated from International Academy materials going forward,” they added.
However, the report referenced in the statement was released on August 3, and Cuomo announced his resignation a week later. It went into effect on Monday. Democrat Kathy Hochul was sworn in as his replacement just after midnight on Tuesday. While the International Academy didn’t elaborate any further on its actions, they apparently waited until Cuomo was no longer governor to revoke his award and purge him from their history.
Back in November 2020, they were singing another tune, giving Cuomo a Founders Award “for effective communication and leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic” and “his masterful use of TV to inform and calm people around the world.”
Cuomo’s daily briefings “worked so well because he effectively created television shows, with characters, plot lines, and stories of success and failure,” Bruce Paisner, president and CEO of the International Academy, said at the time. “People around the world tuned in to find out what was going on, and ‘New York tough’ became a symbol of the determination to fight back.”
The award put Cuomo in the company of TV legends such as J.J. Abrams, Norman Lear, Steven Spielberg, and Oprah Winfrey – and angered critics who protested that his state had one of the worst death tolls, including the vulnerable elderly in nursing homes that he ordered to accept Covid-19 patients. US President Joe Biden’s administration abandoned the investigation into that particular scandal in July.
The International Academy, which handed out – and has now rescinded – the award, is itself based in New York. Cuomo had governed the state for ten years, and previously held the job of the state attorney general. His father Mario had been governor for three terms as well.
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