Content Advisory: This article includes sharp political commentary and explosive claims made by multiple public figures about CBS, ‘60 Minutes,’ and Scott Pelley’s firing.
Jimmy Kimmel is not staying quiet about Scott Pelley’s firing from ‘60 Minutes.’
The late-night host used Wednesday’s episode of ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ to rip CBS over the veteran journalist’s exit, which came after Pelley reportedly clashed with new executive producer Nick Bilton and CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss.
Pelley was fired after accusing Weiss of “murdering” ‘60 Minutes’ during a staff meeting on Monday. By Tuesday evening, he was out.
Kimmel clearly thought the move said more about CBS than it did about Pelley.
Kimmel Called Out CBS In His Monologue
During his monologue, Kimmel described Pelley as a respected journalist who had stood up for the long-running newsmagazine’s standards.
“Last night, the Trump suck-ups at CBS fired a great and deeply respected journalist, Scott Pelley, from his job at ‘60 Minutes,’” Kimmel said, “because he stood up for truth and integrity at a show that’s been the gold standard for broadcast journalism for 57 years.”
Kimmel also mocked the recent executive shake-up at the program.
He pointed to the departures of executive editor Draggan Mihailovich and executive producer Tanya Simon, as well as correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi, Cecilia Vega, and Anderson Cooper.
Nick Bilton, a former tech journalist and filmmaker, was named executive producer last week. Kimmel described him as “a guy who has no experience in TV news.”
“And that was it for Scott Pelley,” Kimmel said. “He said the collapse of values at the top has become untenable. And he let him have it in a staff meeting right to the new guy’s face. So last night they fired him.”
Pelley’s Firing Came After A Bitter Meeting
Pelley reportedly objected during a staff meeting meant to introduce Bilton to the ‘60 Minutes’ team.
After Bilton said Weiss “loves this institution” and “loves ‘60 Minutes,’” Pelley reportedly pushed back hard. He allegedly said Weiss had “no qualifications for her job” and said Bilton had “slender qualifications” for his new role. Pelley also reportedly criticized changes Weiss had made at ‘CBS Evening News,’ calling them “catastrophic.”
The next day, Bilton fired him in a blunt letter. “Your antipathy to the future of the show has come through loud and clear,” the letter read. “And I have heard you. I therefore write on behalf of CBS News to inform you that your employment with CBS is terminated effective immediately.” Bilton also accused Pelley of hijacking the meeting to attack his qualifications and intentions.
Pelley Disputed Weiss’ Version
Weiss later said she had tried to “find a way back” with Pelley before the network parted ways with him.
Pelley sharply denied that account. “Bari Weiss knows what she said is not true,” Pelley said. “In the meeting on Tuesday, in which I was effectively fired, there was no effort of any kind to ‘find a way back,’ as Weiss said in the editorial meeting.”
He added that Weiss and CBS News president Tom Cibrowski were “openly hostile from the start” and claimed firing came up within the first 15 seconds. “No CBS executive, at any time, suggested a way back,” Pelley said. “To say so now is disingenuous. And they know it.”
Other Journalists Backed Pelley
Kimmel was not the only public figure defending Pelley.
Rachel Maddow said she hoped Pelley would return to television immediately, adding that people who value a free press need to find ways to outmaneuver those trying to weaken it. CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil also praised Pelley on air, saying Pelley believed freedom of the press was the right that protected all others.
For CBS, the firing has now become bigger than one personnel decision. It has turned into a fight over what ‘60 Minutes’ is supposed to be, who gets to protect it, and whether the people now running it can keep the old guard from walking out the door.
