Days after CBS fired Scott Pelley on June 2, Rachel Maddow used MSNBC’s primary night coverage to publicly back him—reading from a termination letter accusing Pelley of an “ambush” and “hijacking” a staff meeting. Maddow urged Pelley to “stay on TV tomorrow,”
Rachel Maddow didn’t wait for the news cycle to cool before stepping into Scott Pelley’s fight.
On the evening of June 2, during MSNBC’s primary night coverage, the MS NOW anchor addressed the reported firing of the veteran journalist. Maddow said she hoped Pelley would “end up ‘right here,’” a direct reference to MSNBC, as she talked through what happened and why it mattered.
She then went further on air, reading excerpts from a termination letter sent by the new 60 Minutes executive producer, Nick Bilton. In the letter, Bilton accused Pelley of an “ambush” and of “hijacking” a staff meeting to “disparage” him.
Maddow didn’t soften the tone. She described Bilton’s appointment as a “sort of bald-faced Hungarian-style oligarchic takeover of that news organization,” and said she was “sort of deadly serious” about the comparison.
“The house of a free press is nobody who is more acutely attuned to the value of a free press than those who are trying to take it away. ” Maddow said. She tied the case to the broader political atmosphere. quoting President Donald Trump’s intent to “use the power of the state in order to get the media that I want. ” and said there was “no pretense” that the move was driven by anything else.
She made her ask plain, too.
“I hope he’s on TV tomorrow. ” Maddow said. adding that she wanted “everybody in journalism and everybody who values a free press” to find ways “to outmaneuver the people who are trying to take the free press from us.” Maddow added that. at this point. it was “a fully joined fight” and said she did not think there was any “pretense that anything else was happening here.”.
The following morning, the dispute spilled into the open again—this time through what CBS staffers were told.
Bari Weiss told CBS staffers that “despite our attempts to engage with Scott Pelley and to find a way back, unfortunately, we weren’t able to do so and so we had to part ways.” Pelley rejected that version of events.
He issued a statement through which he disputed Weiss’s remarks. telling The New York Times: “Bari Weiss knows what she said is not true. In the meeting on Tuesday. in which I was effectively fired. there was no effort of any kind to ‘find a way back. ’ as Weiss said in the editorial meeting.” Pelley continued: “At no point did anyone in the Tuesday meeting suggest that there could be steps taken by either side that would lead to a resolution.”.
In his own statement following his termination. Pelley accused CBS’s new ownership of putting political relationships ahead of journalistic integrity. “For my part, new management has instructed me to inject falsehoods and bias into a politically sensitive story,” he said. “I’ve been told to include assertions that are unverified.”.
Pelley also linked his exit to what he described as the political climate around CBS’s parent company, writing: “Now, the new owner of our network is casting this legend aside, apparently to curry a moment of favor with the Trump administration. The waste is heartbreaking.”
He argued that 60 Minutes had lost its identity after senior leadership and two prominent correspondents were dismissed without cause. and he closed his remarks with gratitude for the people he worked with at CBS. “I depart after 37 years at CBS with one emotion — a heart brimming with gratitude for the men and women of CBS News who encouraged and enriched my work. very often at the risk of their own lives. ” he said.
The tension around the moment only grew as other CBS-related shakeups came into focus. Stephen Colbert’s Late Show was canceled by CBS just weeks before Pelley’s firing, and Colbert had been a vocal Trump critic during his tenure.
There were also reports that Lesley Stahl was sidelined by Weiss when a Benjamin Netanyahu interview was handed to CBS correspondent Major Garrett.
Maddow and Pelley’s public clash sat on top of a shared professional bond, too. Both Maddow and Pelley were among the recipients of the 2025 Walter Cronkite Awards for Excellence in Political Journalism. They attended the ceremony on December 12 at the National Press Club in Washington. D.C. with Pelley recognized for 60 Minutes segment “Rule of Law. ” and Maddow’s program honored for “Everyone. Everywhere. All at Once.”.
Rachel Maddow Scott Pelley CBS 60 Minutes MSNBC Bari Weiss Nick Bilton free press Walter Cronkite Awards political journalism Stephen Colbert Late Show Lesley Stahl Major Garrett Benjamin Netanyahu