Why Was Scott Pelley Fired from CBS' “60 Minutes”? Inside His 'Heartbreaking' Exit
Why Was Scott Pelley Fired from CBS' “60 Minutes”? Inside His 'Heartbreaking' Exit
Jordana ComiterWed, June 3, 2026 at 5:05 PM UTC
0
Scott Pelley.
Credit: Michele Crowe/CBS via Getty
-
On June 2, Scott Pelley was fired from CBS' 60 Minutes after nearly four decades with the network
The veteran journalist's firing comes after he reportedly accused editor-in-chief Bari Weiss of trying to "murder" the longtime news program during a staff meeting with new executive producer, Nick Bilton
Pelley shared a statement after his firing and accused the network's new owner of currying favor with President Donald Trump's administration
Scott Pelley's time at 60 Minutes has come to an end.
The Texas native and father of two began his journalism career with CBS News in 1989. Nearly four decades later, the Emmy-winning veteran correspondent was fired from CBS on June 2, following a heated confrontation with the show's new executive producer, Nick Bilton.
Bilton — a former investigative tech journalist and filmmaker — was appointed as executive producer in late May 2026 as part of a major staffing overhaul at the legacy news program, which also saw Pelley's colleagues Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi exit the program.
In a termination letter obtained by PEOPLE on June 2, Bilton accused Pelley of "ambush" and "misconduct" following a staff meeting the day prior, which according to The New York Times, was intended as a formal introduction to Bilton.
Following his firing, Pelley released a statement obtained by PEOPLE in which he accused the program's news executives of prioritizing political bias and currying favor with President Donald Trump's administration.
"When stewardship of the program passed to my colleagues and me, our responsibility was to expand energetically into a new age of media technology while preserving the values our audience expects," Pelley wrote. "Now, the new owner of our network is casting this legend aside, apparently to curry a moment of favor with the Trump administration. The waste is heartbreaking."
So, why was Scott Pelley fired from 60 Minutes? Here's everything to know about the longtime correspondent's exit.
Why was Scott Pelley fired from 60 Minutes?
Scott Pelley
Credit: Michele Crowe/CBS News via Getty
In Bilton's termination letter to Pelley, the executive producer said that the journalist was being fired after allegedly showing "performative display[s] of hostility" and having "no interest in contributing to the future success of the show."
Bilton accused Pelley of hijacking his first meeting with staff in an effort to "disparage" him, his "qualifications" and his "intentions."
"I am here to deliver first-in-class news programming, not to make headlines about newsroom drama," Bilton's letter continues. "I am eager to work alongside those who share this goal."
The letter later adds, "Your antipathy to the future of the show has come through loud and clear. And I have heard you."
What happened during the staff meeting prior to Scott Pelley's firing?
Scott Pelley.
Credit: Joe Pugliese/CBS
According to The New York Times and The Guardian, Pelley's firing comes after he and Bilton allegedly clashed during a June 1 staff meeting at the news program, during which the executive producer told employees that editor-in-chief Bari Weiss "loves 60 Minutes."
In response, the veteran journalist allegedly accused Weiss of "murdering" the legacy news program.
"She does not love this place, she was brought in to kill it and is doing exactly that," Pelley allegedly said, per The New York Times. "She has no qualifications for her job; you have slender qualifications for this job. The changes that she's made at the Evening News have been catastrophic, so why should we expect that any of this is going to be any better?"
Advertisement
Months earlier, CBS had pulled a 60 Minutes segment that focused on Venezuelan men who were deported by the Trump administration to a notorious El Salvador prison. The controversial decision sparked debate at the network, according to a private email that Alfonsi sent to fellow 60 Minutes staffers.
In the note, Alfonsi said she learned that Weiss had "spiked our story," calling the decision "not an editorial decision" but "a political one," per The Wall Street Journal.
Following Pelley's claims in the June 1 meeting, Bilton then reportedly responded, saying, "Well, I will show you. That's what I have to say. That is my plan over the next two weeks. I'll be meeting with everyone. I'm very excited to meet with everyone, yourself included," per The New York Times.
A source close to CBS News leadership told PEOPLE that Weiss and Bilton attempted to reach out to Pelley to speak privately since last week, though "they have not spoken."
What has Scott Pelley said about leaving 60 Minutes?
Scott Pelley on '60 Minutes'
Credit: CBS
Pelley released a statement after his firing, writing that 60 Minutes "lost its DNA when our entire senior leadership and two of our best on-air correspondents were cruelly fired without cause" in late May 2026.
His statement continued, "Good people were silenced because they stood up for our audience. They stood for fairness against the forces of political bias; they stood for professionalism against chaos."
The veteran journalist was seemingly referencing his former colleagues, Vega, Alfonsi and former executive producer Tanya Smith, who was fired by Weiss and CBS News president Tom Cibrowski and replaced by Bilton.
On May 28, PEOPLE reported that Vega and Alfonsi had exited 60 Minutes. Vega then said in an Instagram that she was "fired" from the network, adding her contract did not expire until March 2027.
She alleged that "my producing teams and I have experienced efforts to insert political bias into our stories" in recent months, and wrote that she "[fears] what comes next for and the future of the legendary broadcast."
Elsewhere in Pelley's statement, he claimed that politicians had also been "invited" to choose which 60 Minutes correspondents interview them, and that "incompetence and unprofessionalism in the new management have wreaked havoc."
"The leadership of 60 Minutes is no longer recognizable. The principles I hold dear are gone, and so I must leave as well," he wrote.
Reflecting on his exit, Pelley wrote that he leaves CBS "with one emotion—a heart brimming with gratitude for the men and women of CBS News who encouraged and enriched my work, very often at the risk of their own lives."
"I pray for a day when those people and their ideals are honored again—a day when sanity, competence, and courage return," Pelley wrote.
PEOPLE reached out to CBS for comment.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
