Bari Weiss Defends Scott Pelley Firing: ‘That’s the Path He Chose’
CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss publicly addressed the firing of veteran “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley during an all-staff editorial meeting on Wednesday, telling employees that Pelley “broke trust” in the newsroom and that his termination was “the path that he chose.” The remarks, reported by Deadline, came a day after Pelley was fired by newly installed executive producer Nick Bilton following a heated confrontation during a staff meeting.
The Confrontation
The chain of events began on June 1, when Pelley confronted Bilton and Weiss during an all-staff meeting, accusing Weiss of “murdering” “60 Minutes” and questioning Bilton’s qualifications, which he called “slender.” According to the New York Post, which obtained a recording of the meeting, Bilton wrote in his termination letter that Pelley had “hijacked” his first meeting with staff “to disparage me, my qualifications, and my intentions with remarkable incivility and contempt.”
Pelley, 68, had been with CBS News for nearly 40 years and a “60 Minutes” correspondent since 2004. His firing was effective immediately and without severance.
Weiss’s Account
During the June 3 editorial call, Weiss told staff that the network had attempted to find a resolution with Pelley before resorting to termination. “That foundation was broken on Monday, and despite our attempts to engage with Scott Pelley and to find a way back, unfortunately we weren’t able to do so, and so we had to part ways,” Weiss said, according to a transcript of the call. “We did not want that to happen, but that’s the path that he chose.”
Weiss also praised Pelley’s career accomplishments, citing his reporting on Havana Syndrome, his interview with former Sen. Ben Sasse, and his story rappelling into a cave in Vietnam. “That unfortunate outcome does not discount from the amazing contributions and work that Scott Pelley has done for CBS and for ‘60 Minutes’ over the course of his career,” she said.
Pelley Fires Back
Pelley swiftly rejected Weiss’s characterization of events. In a statement to The New York Times, he said: “Bari Weiss knows what she said is not true. In the meeting on Tuesday, in which I was effectively fired, there was no effort of any kind to ‘find a way back.’” He claimed that CBS News President Tom Cibrowski raised the topic of firing “in the first 15 seconds” of their meeting.
In a separate, broader statement, Pelley leveled serious allegations against CBS News management, accusing them of instructing him “to inject falsehoods and bias into a politically sensitive story” and alleging that politicians had been allowed to choose correspondents for interviews. “The leadership of ‘60 Minutes’ is no longer recognizable,” Pelley wrote. “The principles I hold dear are gone, and so I must leave as well.”
Broader Turmoil at CBS News
Pelley’s firing is the latest and most dramatic development in a sweeping overhaul of “60 Minutes” under Weiss’s leadership. On May 28 — dubbed “Black Thursday” by staff — CBS fired executive producer Tanya Simon, executive editor Draggan Mihailovich, and correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega. Former executive producer Bill Owens resigned in protest in April.
The upheaval comes against the backdrop of parent company Paramount Global’s pending acquisition by Skydance Media, led by David Ellison. Critics have raised concerns that the new ownership is prioritizing political appeasement — particularly with the Trump administration, whose approval is needed for the merger — over journalistic independence.
What’s Next for ‘60 Minutes’
With Pelley’s departure, “60 Minutes” is left with three full-time correspondents: Lesley Stahl, 84, Jon Wertheim, and Bill Whitaker. The show is entering its summer hiatus, and Weiss has indicated plans to hire new talent. CBS News President Tom Cibrowski acknowledged the difficulty of the transition during the staff call, saying, “We know that these events, developments, changes, are a lot to process for every single person in this room and on this call.”
The remaining correspondents are now under intense scrutiny, with industry observers watching closely to see whether Stahl, Wertheim, and Whitaker will stay with the program or follow their departed colleagues. Pelley has not ruled out legal action, and his allegations of being told to inject falsehoods into reporting could have significant legal and reputational implications for CBS News.