Katherine Donlevy
Chris Cuomo couldn’t control his laughter Tuesday as a popular TikToker with Tourettes Syndrome flipped him off and repeatedly cursed him out in an uncensored interview — that included her calling him a “fat a–.”
“F–k off, f–k off, f–k off … F–k you, Chris,” Baylen Dupree, a 21-year-old who uses her channel to raise awareness of the neurological disorder, said throughout the interview.
The typically straight-faced host of NewsNation’s “Cuomo” broke into smiles several times during the four-minute chat, but retained some sense of professionalism as he listened to Dupree — who boasts 9 million followers — spout a barrage of involuntary profanities while explaining her daily struggles with the relentless tics.
He broke down into hysterics, however, and was forced to hide his laughter behind his hands when the social media star spent several seconds experiencing heavy tics that forced her to squint her face and wave her hands as she cursed.
“Go f–k yourself, Chris! Little baby weiner, Banana up your a–! Butter your own biscuit, fat a–!” Dupree said.
Without allowing the tics to slow her down, Dupree jumped right back into the conversation and shared how she receives comments from “evil people” who tell her that her parents “deserved to die in a car accident because I’m faking my condition.”
Cuomo fumbled to straighten back up and plastered a serious look on his face as he listened to the college freshman share how dangerous her life has become since reaching online fame.
“I’ve had to have the police out my house because people gave out my location and said they’re gonna come torch my house. It’s crazy,” Dupree said as Cuomo solemnly shook his head in disapproval.
Tourettes Syndrome affects as many as 1.4 million children and adults across the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Dupree was officially diagnosed with the disorder in 2018, though she had been exhibiting signs since her childhood. Her symptoms worsened during the pandemic.
Tics can become worsened due to high-stress or -anxiety situations — such as appearing on a national news program.
In a pre-interview segment, the anchor admitted he was initially one of many who believed she was a “great comedic actor” who had been faking her disorder for attention.
He claims his opinion has since been changed and that he purposely aired the interview without censors to exhibit her “bravery.”
“She says some pretty ugly stuff unintentionally,” Cuomo said through giggling. “And I’m laughing because I get what it’s about. And that’s why I don’t care. It’s not curse words to be mean and the difference matters.”
With a stronger sense of professionalism, Dupree brushed off the 53-year-old’s repeated laughter and used her limited time to share her hopes to inspire others to not feel shame or embarrassment over their uncontrollable tics.
“I get thousands of DMS, from parents, from teachers, from girls that have been diagnosed with Tourette’s and they’ve had to be kicked out of school for attention seeking because they rip up their homework or do things like that … I’ve had parents reach out to me asking me, ‘Oh, my son’s coming home with a girlfriend and his girlfriend has Tourette Syndrome,’” Dupree said of the community she’s built around her TikTok.
This post was originally posted by New York Post
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