Swisher tells co-host she’s leaving CNN after merger

Kara Swisher, a CNN contributor and host, says she will not stay at the network once Paramount Skydance completes its takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery after DOJ approval—citing her distrust of David Ellison, his leadership style, and the company’s alleged “p

The conversation happened the way so many internet-era celebrity rivalries do now: brisk, heated, and oddly specific. On her “Pivot” podcast Tuesday. Kara Swisher sat with co-host Scott Galloway and made it clear she’s not planning to work at CNN after Paramount Skydance finishes taking over the network’s parent company. Warner Bros. Discovery.

Her words weren’t couched in diplomacy. “With the CNN thing, well, you know my feelings on that. I’m leaving as soon as I can,” Swisher declared, responding to Galloway after he pressed for what she meant.

“ So, you’re out? You’re out of CNN?” Galloway asked, warily—especially because Swisher had spent months trying to get him to appear on the network.

Swisher’s answer didn’t soften with the question. She emphasized that any entreaties she’d made were made before the government gave the deal a green light. “Let me try to outline it: I don’t want to work for the Ellisons. and I don’t want to work for their handpicked minions because I think they’re incompetent. ” she said.

She went further, drawing a line between the people she expects to run the place and the decisions she believes they would be capable of making. Swisher said she didn’t think it was possible for Ellison’s “minions” to “make good decisions,” and she admitted she didn’t trust them.

“I don’t want to work for tech people,” she said. “Like you, I think TV is great, but it’s not that great to put up with this shit.”

Under contract until the end of the year, Swisher told Galloway she’s hoping the new owners will let her out earlier. “I’m under contract until the end of the year,” she said, while also adding she’s looking for a break “because I don’t want to affiliate with them.”

The stakes, from Swisher’s perspective, are not just corporate. The DOJ approved the proposed merger last week, saying it probably wouldn’t harm industry competition or negatively affect consumers. Many others. however. fear a different outcome—especially in a world where critics worry a Trump-friendly CEO. David Ellison. could pursue “improper political meddling.”.

Swisher’s anger toward Paramount Skydance and the Ellisons is not new. Back in March. she made comments about the Ellisons during a panel at Syracuse University. saying. “I’m not working for you hacks.” In that same appearance. after praising a fellow journalist for leaving CBS News after it was purchased by the Ellisons. Swisher said. “You don’t want to work for the Ellisons. I’ve spent a lot of time with Larry Ellison, and he’s a terrible person.”.

That history is part of what makes Tuesday’s declaration land harder: she isn’t describing a sudden change of heart. She’s describing an outcome she’s been bracing for.

HuffPost reached out to Paramount Skydance for comment on Swisher’s desire to depart CNN when it takes over, but no one immediately responded.

The exchange is visible beginning around the 10:27 mark in the embedded video. For Swisher, though, the direction is already clear. Her contract runs until the end of the year, but her message to Galloway—simple, blunt, and unambiguous—was that as soon as she can, she’s gone.

Kara Swisher CNN Paramount Skydance Warner Bros. Discovery DOJ approval David Ellison Scott Galloway Pivot podcast media merger Syracuse University