Chris Cuomo Defends Controversial Interview With TikToker Who Has Tourette's

Chris Cuomo found himself in hot water after he interviewed a TikToker who has Tourette's Syndrome -- and laughed at her on-air.

TikToker Baylen Dupree, who has Tourette syndrome, was answering Cuomo's questions when some of her tics suddenly came on -- to which the NewsNation anchor then smirked and began laughing. At one point, he even covered his mouth with his hands in an attempt to hide his reactions.

On Wednesday, Cuomo addressed the controversial interview on air.

"Last night, we did a story. It was a little dicey, people weren't sure we could do it because there was going to be a lot of cursing, and [executive producer Alexandra Cohen] and I didn't give a damn," Cuomo said. "Why? Baylen Dupree has gone viral — and for good reason. We love giving a platform for her to fight the stigma of having Tourette syndrome."

Cuomo accused some of the news outlets, that reported on the initial interview, of not giving the full story and of misrepresenting the situation, saying, "No, the kid did not come on my show to curse at me. It's a tic, it's not a quote. It's not intentional."

He concluded his on-air comments by saying, "She's welcome here whenever she wants, and I can't wait to see what she does next."

Dupree, 21, appeared as a guest on his prime-time show to discuss her rise to social media stardom, which focuses mainly on her journey with Tourette's.

She has been open and honest with her 9.1M followers and has shown the rawness and realness of what life can be like for someone who has Tourette's Syndrome, even informing her audience that 10% may experience tics that often include profanity -- Dupree is one of that 10%.

When having the 21-year-old on his show, Cuomo introduced her to his viewers as "a beautiful demonstration of turning pain into purpose," however, he turned heads and received criticism after he proceeded to laugh (on multiple occasions) in response to Dupree's more "vulgar" outbursts.

"She says some pretty ugly stuff, unintentionally," he said as he laughed, seemingly not taking the tics and outbursts that come with Tourette's seriously. "I'm laughing because I get what it's about and that's why I don't care."

His initial comments did not sit well with many viewers of his show, and with many of Dupree's followers, prompting the NewsNation anchor to address the interview -- though he did not exactly apologize for laughing at the 21-year-old, and, instead, practically defended his actions of having her on his show despite the profanity.

At one point in the interview, Cuomo asked Dupree if she thinks her platform has helped people be more understanding about Tourette's Syndrome, or if there are "dopes like me who think you're acting?"

When answering, Dupree began experiencing some of her tics, which included her suddenly cursing at Cuomo -- something that she could not control. That is when Cuomo is seen smirking and then placing his hands over his mouth in an attempt to hide his laughter.

Watch the full interview below.

https://youtu.be/lEFL6aExHr4

Dupree did share a clip of her interview with her TikTok and Instagram followers, but did not appear to address the laughter from Cuomo.

Fans, however, did not let it slide as they commmented things such as "Deep shame on you Chris Cuomo" and "I was desperate to hear her tell Chris Cuomo 'you're done'."

https://www.tiktok.com/@baylen.dupree/video/7312119524495592747?lang=en

Dupree spoke out about her Tourette's diagnosis earlier his year, telling PEOPLE, "I'm sick and tired of hiding from everyone when I can't do anything about the way I am. I can't change it so I might as well embrace it. And I've never looked back. I've never regretted it."

"There's not a person in this world that doesn't have something that they deal with," she continued. "I'm so fine living with this. I'm so happy. Tourette's doesn't define Baylen. Just because I struggle with it doesn't mean it defines who I am and who I will be."

Baylen Dupree has yet to publicly address the controversy surrounding the interview with Chris Cuomo.