On her June 4 SiriusXM show, Megyn Kelly attacked CBS News boss Bari Weiss for the way she handled Scott Pelley’s firing from “60 Minutes,” tying Weiss’s moves to morale damage, hardball tactics, and a lack of answers after correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi and Cec
For Megyn Kelly, the problem wasn’t just who lost their job at “60 Minutes.” It was how CBS News handled the exits—fast, public, and without enough explanation.
Speaking with guest Maureen Callahan on the June 4 episode of her eponymous SiriusXM show. the conservative podcaster turned her fire on CBS News boss Bari Weiss. blasting her management of staff around the show’s recent shakeups. Kelly said that whenever internal drama grows into “a multiple-day story on every news outlet in the country. ” something has gone wrong. “You haven’t managed your talent and your off-air talent well at all,” she said.
Kelly pointed to the fallout inside the newsroom, arguing that the situation has escalated far beyond normal change-management. “When it’s spilling out with this drama. and now the last remaining three [veterans] are threatening to quit. something’s gone very. very wrong in the way that the problems are being managed over there. ” she added.
The CBS News leader’s decisions have hit morale, Kelly said, especially after Weiss terminated “60 Minutes” correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega on May 28. Following Pelley’s ouster, Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and L. Jon Wertheim were left as the program’s only remaining correspondents.
Kelly said the approach is creating resistance instead of cooperation. “You can play hardball all you want. What is that going to do to the existing morale within CBS News? Within 60 Minutes? It’s going to make everyone hate you,” she said.
She also focused on what Scott Pelley accused Weiss of doing when questions arose after the sudden terminations of Alfonsi and Vega—along with executive producer Tanya Simon and executive editor Draggan Mihailovich. Kelly referenced Pelley’s claims that Weiss “stonewalled for about 10 minutes” before declaring. “This conversation is over.” Pelley was then “subsequently sacked.”.
Kelly said Weiss still hadn’t offered a clear explanation to the people doing the work. “You won’t even say why… that’s their colleague with whom they’ve been building this show now for many months during a tumultuous time. and all they know is you’ve canned her. ” Kelly said. insisting Weiss should have provided answers.
The criticism sharpened into a blunt message about labor and power in a high-profile newsroom. “It makes everybody feel unsteady. I’m sorry. but there’s a way to handle people. and she doesn’t know what it is. and clearly neither do [company owners] the Ellisons. ” Kelly said. “They’re enjoying their little two minutes of power.”.
She argued that 60 Minutes can’t be run like coercion. “You can’t swoop into 60 Minutes. fire all the top staff without any explanation and then expect the remaining ones to do exactly what you want them to do. It’s not a prison camp, right?. This is not forced labor. You are not the gestapo. Like, just ease up a little,” Kelly said.
Kelly added that the remaining team could end up striking back in quieter ways. “If you want this kind of change. then you’d better fire them all. or you’re going to have a very unhappy work staff sitting there very resentful of you and looking to undermine you at every turn. And they can. They’re like the CIA,” she said.
She also predicted an ongoing backlash inside the newsroom: “Kelly predicted the remaining staff ‘will be leaking on Bari now to the end of time. She already has taken a massive black eye, and it’s only going going to get worse.’”
Those tensions have been building since Weiss was appointed to lead the news division last fall by tech scion David Ellison. Ellison’s company took control of Paramount, CBS’s parent company, in 2025.
Clashes, according to staff, have centered on “issues concerning the program’s editorial direction and independence,” including accusations that Weiss has engaged in political interference and attempted to soften coverage.
Pelley’s firing followed another public confrontation. His ouster came one day after he criticized Weiss and newly installed “60 Minutes” executive producer Nick Bilton during a meet-and-greet with Bilton. Bilton is described as a filmmaker, former tech columnist for The New York Times and special correspondent for Vanity Fair.
Pelley challenged Bilton’s background and questioned their vision for the storied newsmagazine. saying. “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?” Kelly referenced the account of the exchange as being “according to audio obtained by the Times.” Pelley then told Bilton. “You will never be welcome here.”.
The longtime CBS vet was then “terminated for cause” the following day.
There are no clear signs in Kelly’s remarks that the damage is contained. For her, the sequence of firings and the lack of answers aren’t just personnel changes—they’re a leadership choice that keeps rattling the newsroom, even as the remaining anchors and correspondents try to hold the line.
Megyn Kelly Bari Weiss 60 Minutes Scott Pelley Sharyn Alfonsi Cecilia Vega Tanya Simon Draggan Mihailovich Nick Bilton Lesley Stahl Bill Whitaker L. Jon Wertheim David Ellison Paramount CBS News