Report: CNN Employees Furious About Who Still Has a Job After Network President's Shock Resignation
In the aftermath of Jeff Zucker’s resignation as president of CNN, a new report says some CNN insiders are irked that the longtime partner in his affair is not leaving the embattled network.
Zucker, 56, announced his resignation on Wednesday morning, departing the network and revealing his romantic involvement with a female subordinate.
He did not name names, but Allison Gollust, CNN’s executive vice president and chief marketing officer — and Zucker’s key lieutenant — later outed herself.
Gollust said her relationship with Zucker “changed” during the coronavirus pandemic and that she regretted that the two — both of whom are divorced — did not disclose the relationship at the right time.
A Wednesday report in the New York Post that didn’t identify its sources said many insiders are unhappy, claiming Gollust is “lying.”
“Why is she allowed to keep her job?” a source the Post called a “CNN insider” is quoted as saying. “CNN is supposed to be a transparent news network. How does she get away with lying about their affair for so long?”
“They’ve been together for years,” another unnamed source said, according to the Post. “And she’s still lying about it today. The statement she made that ‘recently our relationship changed during COVID’ is a total lie.”
New York Magazine offered questions without answers in calling the relationship “an open secret for years” and pondered the question, “So why is he really leaving?”
The name of former CNN host Chris Cuomo appears through many reports in reference to that question.
Cuomo was fired by the network in December for working with his brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, to secure favorable news coverage when the governor was facing accusations of sexual misconduct.
Chris Cuomo later faced his own sexual harassment allegations.
Zucker, in his statement explaining why he was leaving CNN — he had a nine-year tenure as president — noted that his affair came to light during back-and-forth with Chris Cuomo’s attorneys.
According to the New York Post, when Zucker refused to pay the ex-host the nearly $18 million that was on the remainder of his contract, Cuomo’s lawyers went over Zucker’s head to AT&T, CNN’s owner.
Cuomo’s attorneys told AT&T the company was involved in selective enforcement, the Post reported, citing sources. But instead of a payout to Cuomo, AT&T forced Zucker to resign.
Zucker and Gollust, CNN’s two most senior executives, are the ones who made the decision to fire Cuomo, the Post said.
Meanwhile, another conflict was lurking in the wings. Gollust served a brief stint as the communications director for Andrew Cuomo, according to NPR.
(5) Not sure if Allison Gollust has a Mario Cuomo connection (probably; don’t we all?), but Andrew and Chris are Mario’s kids.
— Jimmy Vielkind (@JimmyVielkind) February 2, 2022
Jonathan Klein, president of CNN’s U.S. operations from 2004 to 2010, said that what happens next will help define CNN.
“These are important inflection points, crucibles, for corporations,” he told NPR. “Companies seize these moments to define themselves in these ways.
“This is the world we are living in today with standards set very, very high. These issues have been in the culture long enough every executive understands what the ground rules are.
“Everything is taking place out in public, and every constituency has a voice they can raise,” Klein said. “It’s tough for a corporation to have to weather these things. These stories don’t die.”
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