Chris Cuomo reacts to backlash over 'sexist' tweet on rape survivor's support of NRA: 'I am a gun owner'

CNN anchor Chris Cuomo has been taking a lot of heat on Twitter after apparently criticizing a rape survivor-turned-gun owner who’s become a spokesperson for the National Rifle Association (NRA).

Cuomo expressed his opinion on Wednesday morning by retweeting a message from NRATV that contained a quote from Kimberly Corban, who became a Second Amendment advocate after surviving a violent rape in 2006 at age 20. Corban stood up for her decision to protect herself by carrying a gun.

The quote read, “I'm a mother of two, and if a predator or anyone else tries to harm me or my family, they have to come through my firearm first.” Cuomo chimed in on Twitter, writing, “Only in America.”

The journalist did not elaborate on the comment, but many on Twitter — including several high-profile political commentators — were quick to interpret Cuomo’s words as mockery, both of Corban’s story and of the right to bear arms for self-defense.

GOP consultant Seth Weathers called Cuomo’s tweet “repulsive” and turned the tables on the frequent Trump critic. “This is repulsive. Image [sic] what you would say on your show tonight if President Trump had tweeted what you did?”

Sports radio veteran and podcast host Tony Bruno asked Cuomo outright if he meant to criticize a woman’s right to carry a weapon for self-defense.

And United States Army Reserves Officer Montgomery Granger sent a simple tweet that didn’t address Cuomo’s comment directly, but expressed support for Corban and the right to bear arms.

Eventually, Corban herself chimed in, asking Cuomo if he’d “care to chat” about her point of view. “Looks like you forgot to tag me,” she quipped.

One Twitter user asked Cuomo why he’s “responding to everyone except for Kim Corban.” Cuomo tried to convince the man that his words were being misconstrued.

Fox News meteorologist Janice Dean stood in solidarity with all women who are victims of sexual assault, and insisted Cuomo demystify what he meant — so he explained that “only in America” was intended to reference the fact that the U.S. is “still debating the legitimate right to protect oneself” versus a “sensible way to keep guns from the wrong people.”

He later addressed Dean again, tweeting that he was sorry if his words “misled” her. “I take the issue and the stories of violence seriously,” he tweeted before apologizing.

Cuomo then went on to insist he had already apologized “for this negative attention that was not intended.”

Earlier, The View co-host Meghan McCain challenged Cuomo to answer to why “so many men in the media” don’t take the views of conservative women seriously. Cuomo responded that McCain had his “intentions wrong,” and that gun laws should not be an “all or nothing” debate.

The pile-on continued, with others calling Cuomo’s tweet “sexist” and telling the anchor he has “no shame.” “How is life in the high castle,” one wrote, apparently referencing Cuomo’s white male privilege.

Cuomo admitted that he himself is a gun owner, “thus I see a legit right to bear and that is clear in law,” he tweeted. “Why pretend I am some heartless hater?”

Cuomo has been a vocal advocate of gun control laws, supporting universal background checks and opposing privacy laws for gun owners.

Corban filmed a commercial for the NRA in which she described her attack in 2006 by a stranger who held her hostage in her apartment and raped her for two hours while she was attending college.

“At 20 years old, I had to lay there thinking about how I was going to die,” she said, adding that the the carry and conceal law “isn’t for everyone. It definitely wasn’t for me up until a few years ago.”

At the end of the video, she challenges former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, who launched a $50 million gun control initiative in 2014 and supports the Everytown for Gun Safety initiative.

“Mr. Bloomberg, you do not have the right to tell me how to defend myself,“ she says. “If my right to self-protection is taken away, that leaves me very, very vulnerable, and feeling very scared once again. I know how best to defend myself.”

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

• Founder of Moms Demand slams bulletproof hoodies: 'We don't have to live like this'

• Mother in critical condition after 8-year-old accidentally shoots her at baseball game, gun owner charged

• NRA president says Rep. Lucy McBath was elected because she's 'a minority female'

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