CNN has canceled Brian Stelter’s Sunday show after new boss Chris Licht promised to clean up the network. The chief media correspondent and Reliable Source host is the network’s first casualty since Licht took over in early 2022. Stelter confirmed in a statement to NPR that she would be stepping down from the show.
CNN’s new boss Chris Licht is currently working to revive the scandal-plagued network after several high-profile incidents. Critics demanded that Stelter be fired earlier this year after failing to report on an “open secret” between former CEO Jeff Zucker and executive Alison Golst.
Zucker resigned as CNN president in February for not disclosing his relationship with Golst during interviews as part of the Chris Cuomo investigation. She and Golst claim the romance began during COVID, but media sources tell DailyMail.com that it predated the pandemic and was an open secret in the CNN office.
It comes days after CNN lawyer Jeffrey Toobin announced he is leaving the network after 20 years. He is still fighting for $18 million — the remainder of his contract — but Zucker has refused to pay, citing a conflict of interest between Chris’ relationship with his brother and his on-air reporting for CNN.
According to Politico sources, Cuomo’s team said it was hypocritical for Zucker to fire Chris because of a conflict of interest in his relationship with Golst. Since November, CNN has been testing several potential replacements for the 9 p.m. Show, with Jim Acosta, Laura Coates, Michael Smarkonish and Sarah Sidner.
Toobin appeared on the show across the network and said Friday that she will miss her CNN colleagues. A year earlier, his return to CNN in June 2021 was accompanied by a shocking interview in which he apologized to his colleagues for his “deeply stupid” behavior and said he was “incredibly grateful” to be back on the air.
Brian Stelter is out CNN
