A former senior aide to Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo began her role as a contributor for Fox News on Monday. However, the announcement on X was met with immediate backlash due to the aide’s involvement in the nursing home scandal during New York’s coronavirus response.
Melissa DeRosa, who played a key role in the Cuomo administration’s efforts to conceal the actual number of nursing home deaths amid the COVID-19 crisis, was officially hired by Fox News in late September.
On the show “Outnumbered,” a photo was shared of DeRosa celebrating her first day. But shortly after, users on X expressed their displeasure. (RELATED: Fox News Hires Ex-Cuomo Aide Who Admitted To Covering Up Nursing Home Deaths)
Today on Outnumbered: Melissa DeRosa, Fox News Contributor. Welcome to couch, @melissadderosa! https://t.co/ctWgmDor0F
— Outnumbered (@OutnumberedFNC) October 5, 2026
One user, Breanna Morello, an independent journalist, described it as “disgraceful,” adding it was “a slap in the face” to Janice Dean, a former Fox News weathercaster whose parents-in-law died from coronavirus in nursing homes. Dean has voiced strong criticism of Cuomo’s administration throughout the pandemic and the ensuing scandal.
Another comment indicated a refusal to watch Fox anymore due to this hiring. “Shame on you for pretending this is okay,” a user wrote, while yet another described DeRosa as having a “black heart and zero credibility.”
“No matter how many times you interview her and bring her to host shows, it won’t work!” the user expressed.
Some have mentioned that this choice is one of the reasons they no longer tune into Fox, with one asking, “Democrat Strategist. Fox Contributor. Covid coverup. What could go wrong?”
In June, Janice Dean left Fox News amid health issues related to her multiple sclerosis diagnosis. Not long after, she claimed that the network tried to limit her commentary on Cuomo’s nursing home scandal. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: New York Admits Knowingly Undercounting Nursing Home Deaths After Quietly Changing Reporting Rules)
“One day, I’ll share the story of how I was banned from talking about Andrew Cuomo after years of criticism regarding his treatment of seniors during COVID,” she posted on X last July.
Dean expressed feelings of betrayal, admitting she was still bitter about the situation. “When you share something so personal and are encouraged to talk about it for so long, and then one day you’re told you can’t, that hurt doesn’t just disappear,” she wrote in another post.
DeRosa, during a conference call with Democratic lawmakers in 2021, acknowledged that the Cuomo administration had hidden the true numbers of nursing home deaths. She explained their concerns about the potential for the scandal to be politicized by then-President Donald Trump, who might have initiated a Department of Justice investigation.
