© Go Nakamura

ALBANY — Radio listeners were stunned Tuesday when Gov. Cuomo dropped the n-word during an on-air discussion about discrimination against Italian-Americans.

The governor, referencing a New York Times editorial about the racist language used to describe Italian immigrants in decades past, said his ancestors were often referred to as “n----r w--s.”

Pivoting away from a question about the state’s delayed Medicaid payments, Cuomo cited the Grey Lady’s use of the derogatory term and steered the conversation toward anti-Italian sentiments

“The Times also said in an article the other day, apropos of nothing, they were talking about it,” the governor told WAMC host Alan Chartock. “Going back to the Italian-Americans because now you have me. They used an expression that southern Italians were called quote-unquote, and pardon my language, but I’m just quoting The Times, n----r w--s. N-word wops as a derogatory comment.”

The comment comes a day after the governor marched down Fifth Ave. in the Columbus Day parade and announced the state would be ponying up funds for a statue of Saint Frances Cabrini. The move came after a city program run by first lady Chirlane McCray decided against dedicating a memorial to the Italian-born Cabrini despite her leading a public poll.

Cuomo called the shunning of the saint an “affront” to the Italian-American community.

Seven other women were chosen to get statues as part of the “She Built NYC” statue program even though Cabrini got “by far” the most votes out of 300 women, Cuomo said.

Cuomo on Saturday told the crowd at a gala for the Columbus Citizens Foundation that Italian-Americans must “stand up.”

“As Italian-Americans, we must also remember that we ourselves are not immune from attack. The ugliness of Italian-American stereotyping is still alive and well. Our battle is not over,” he said.

Earlier this year, Cuomo defended his TV host brother Chris Cuomo over the summer after video went viral of the CNN anchor blowing up on a heckler who called him “Fredo.”

The gov’s brother exploded on the man who likened him to Fredo Corleone, the hardheaded middle son of Don Vito Corleone in “The Godfather," a reference which he called tantamount to “the n-word” for Italian-Americans.