Norah O’Donnell Fires Back at Bari Weiss Critics Amid ‘CBS Mornings’ Return
Norah O’Donnell fired back after social media critics said they were “really disappoint[ed]” by her return to “CBS Mornings,” calling the criticism, particularly of CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss, “so silly.”
The longtime CBS journalist shared an Instagram post on Thursday revealing that she was returning as co-host of “CBS Mornings” alongside Gayle King and Nate Burleson, with new episodes starting Tuesday. Several commenters on the post shared that they wished O’Donnell had left the organization in the wake of Weiss’ takeover of CBS.
O’Donnell, in return, called this mindset “silly” and urged users to watch the program.
“I feel Norah is too good to stay with CBS,” said one user in the comments. “I wish some other news force had scooped her up. As long as Bari Weiss and the Ellisons are in charge bye bye.”
“This is so silly,” O’Donnell responded. “Just watch our show !” You can view the post below.
This wasn’t the only comment to call out Weiss and the Ellisons on the post, made nearly one year after the former became editor-in-chief of CBS News. During that time, several longtime reporters have left or been culled from the organization, with names like Sharyn Alfonsi and Scott Pelley removed from “60 Minutes.”
“Really disappointing that a legit journalist like Norah would choose to stay at a network that is little more than state sponsored, fascist propaganda at this point,” said another user. “The money must be good.”
“You are obviously not watching the shows,” O’Donnell replied.
Another commenter shared, “This is tough but I can’t watch CBS anymore with Bari Weiss running things. Love Nora tho,” to which the reporter responded, “This makes no sense. Watch our show.”
These comments come after “CBS Mornings” executive producer Jon Tower called O’Donnell’s return a “homecoming” on Thursday, sharing word of her reunion with King in a note to staff.
“They know each other, respect each other, and — maybe most importantly — genuinely enjoy each other,” Tower wrote. “To put it simply, I can’t think of a team I’d rather watch navigate the news than Gayle, Nate and Norah.”
