Former Bravo star and I've Had It podcast co-host Jennifer Welch called for people to "boycott every f**king thing on CBS News" after 60 Minutes anchor Scott Pelley was fired after a heated clash with network executives.
Pelley's contract was terminated following a contentious public dispute with Nick Bilton, a former technology reporter recently brought in by Bari Weiss, who has also overseen a broader shake-up that included the departure of senior producers and correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega.
Pelley accused new network leadership of undermining journalistic integrity, professionalism, and public trust, arguing that recent management decisions were motivated in part by a desire to win favor with the Trump administration. Pelley said "the collapse of values at the top has become untenable" and that "the leadership of 60 Minutes is no longer recognizable."
The news angered Welch, who in a recent episode of her podcast called Weiss "an unserious person who has a very serious job." She also said Bilton "chose to go work for these fascists" and is now "a fascist collaborator."
She added:
"We stand with Scott Pelley 100 percent and everyday Americans look to his courage and his strength and do not fall for this jetstream-of-bulls**t letter by Nick Bilton, sanctimoniously lecturing Americans about journalism, when he goes to work for CBS, the network that is committing suicide every single day."
"And here is our job: Boycott every f**king thing on CBS News from the morning all the way through to the evening. These are the same people that fired Stephen Colbert because Trump got his feelings hurt by a comedian. These people are the biggest bunch of pussies that masquerade with these grandstanding letters like they’re such badasses."
"These people don’t care about the truth, they don’t care about journalism, they don’t care about the Constitution, they don’t care about a free press. It’s just absolutely devastating what these oligarchs have done to our country."
"And then you get these people that go and join them but Scott Pelley showed us the way by standing up and fighting these people tooth and nail."
You can hear what she said in the video below.
Many concurred with her remarks.
At the start of a conference call with CBS News employees on Wednesday morning, Weiss directly addressed the controversy, claiming she is "only interested in working in a newsroom that is built on trust and mutual respect.”
Pelley responded by accusing Weiss of lying to staff members. He said his meeting with Weiss and CBS News president Tom Cibrowski had in fact begun on a confrontational note, with the possibility of his dismissal being raised almost immediately. He said "No constructive dialogue was allowed by the CBS executives at any point."
The future of 60 Minutes remains uncertain, with it still unclear whether the program's three remaining correspondents—Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker, and Jon Wertheim—will return for the show's 59th season. CBS News executives are reportedly trying to persuade them to stay.
Meanwhile, a report by Deadline's Dominic Patten found growing frustration within the network, with many employees blaming Weiss and her leadership team for their handling of the turmoil.
