CNN defends Chris Cuomo after he threatened to throw a man down the stairs who used an ethnic slur

CNN is standing by anchor Chris Cuomo after he was targeted by "an orchestrated setup" in New York.

On Monday, video was posted by Ryan Saavedra of the right-wing website The Daily Wire.

The man had apparently called Cuomo "Fredo."

"No, punk-ass b*tches from the right call me Fredo," Cuomo says. "My name is Chris Cuomo, I'm an anchor on CNN."

"Fredo is from 'The Godfather,' he was that weak brother and they're using it as an Italian aspersion. It's like the 'n-word' for us," Cuomo explained to the man who had used the slur.

"You're going to have a f*cking problem," Cuomo said later in the video.

"What are you going to do about it?" the man taunted.

"I'll f*cking ruin your shit. I'll f*cking throw you down these stairs like a f*cking punk," Cuomo replied.

Reporter Yashar Ali of New York magazine received a comment from a CNN spokesperson.

"Chris Cuomo defended himself when he was verbally attacked with the use of an ethnic slur in an orchestrated setup. We completely support him," the network said.