AWKWARD: Don Lemon tackles Gov. Cuomo’s sex scandal seconds after telling Chris Cuomo ‘I love you’—Chris didn’t mention his brother at all

The anchors discussed how two Capitol Police officers at the riot recently took their own lives, then exchanged routine handoff pleasantries. "You know what? I love you, brother," Lemon told Cuomo.

Immediately following the handoff, a picture of Governor Andrew Cuomo appeared as Lemon began his show and said:

"The calls are getting louder and louder. This is what I'm talking about, top Democrats from New York to the White House calling on Governor Andrew Cuomo to resign," Lemon told viewers.

"That in the wake of a bombshell report from the state's attorney general that alleges the governor sexually harassed 11 women, including state employees and a state trooper."

Chris Cuomo did not address the scandal on his show and instead told viewers "we're focused on COVID here." He spent the show criticizing Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over his response to the Delta variant.

Social media erupted in mockery of the hypocrisy, bias and the awkward transition.

Chris Cuomo was cited in the AG's report for taking part in drafting a response for his brother to the sexual harassment allegations against him on Feb. 28.

The anchor also joined conference calls with top aides to his brother the Governor as charges of harassment gained traction and calls mounted from both sides of the political aisle for his resignation. The younger Cuomo urged his brother to not step down and blamed everything on "cancel culture." The Governor would later use the cancel culture talking point in his defense.

Chris Cuomo previously apologized to his CNN colleagues for putting them in a "bad spot," that he was in a "unique and difficult situation" as the brother of the governor while being an anchor, but insisted "I know where the line is."

Cuomo told his viewers when his brother’s scandals first emerged that he "obviously" could not cover the story, even though he had previously invited the governor close to a dozen times for interviews and comedy sketches where he praised the Andrew's leadership during the pandemic.

The anchor was also given "VIP treatment" from the Cuomo administration and was among the few who received COVID testing in the early days of the outbreak of the pandemic even as average New York residents could not find testing.

The governor sent a top state physician to his brother's house in the Hamptons for private testing. The tests for family members were prioritized when they were sent to a lab in Albany.