Alisyn Camerota Fall-Out: CNN ‘Testing Possible Replacements’ for ‘Fame-Thirsty’ 10 PM Anchor After Jeff Zucker Scandal as Questions Linger About Kaitlan Collins’ ‘Longevity’
July 27 2023, Published 8:00 a.m. ET
CNN is reportedly “testing possible replacements” for embattled network anchor Alisyn Camerota following her recent scandal with Jeff Zucker, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Questions have also reportedly been raised regarding CNN fledgling star Kaitlan Collins’ “longevity” at the network’s all-important 9 PM primetime timeslot.
In the latest development to come after Camerota and Zucker were caught holding hands after a brunch party at Don Lemon’s Hamptons home on Saturday, sources close to CNN reported that the network is considering replacing Camerota at 10 PM.
“This week, I learned that the network is testing possible replacements for Alisyn Camerota at 10 p.m.—no doubt her attendance at Don Lemon’s Hamptons house, alongside Zucker, did not endear her to the bosses at [Warner Bros. Discovery]—and that Sara Sidner is seen as a possible candidate,” Puck’s Dylan Byers reported on Wednesday.
Although the outlet clarified that it is “not yet certain that Camerota will vacate that timeslot,” Byers indicated that “none of these decisions stand to change the fortunes of CNN’s declining linear business.”
“Nor do they have any bearing on its long-term success in the post-linear era,” he wrote.
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Camerota came under fire after she and Zucker were photographed holding hands outside Lemon’s Sag Harbor home over the weekend.
Sources close to Camerota and Zucker insisted that there was nothing romantic about the pair holding hands and that the two are “just old friends” – but Camerota’s CNN colleagues allegedly slammed the stunt as “inappropriate” and “disrespectful.”
“Yes, they are best friends, but staff members – especially women at CNN – think that her attention-seeking actions were just tacky and quite disrespectful,” one network insider close to the 10 PM host said.
“Her holding hands for clout with Jeff was inappropriate,” Camerota’s colleague added. “She is well-respected at the network, but this was extremely fame-thirsty and she knew damn well what she was doing would get people talking.”
Meanwhile, Kaitlan Collins’ “longevity” at CNN’s 9 PM primetime timeslot also came into question this week.
“By contrast, CNN staffers aren’t sure what to look forward to,” Puck reported on Wednesday. “Programming questions, like the longevity of Kaitlan Collins at 9 p.m., for instance, feel almost irrelevant to everyone save for the parties involved.”
As RadarOnline.com reported, ex-CNN CEO Chris Licht promoted Collins from CNN This Morning to The Source on June 5.
Collins’ promotion came shortly after the 31-year-old journalist moderated CNN's presidential town hall with former President Donald Trump in May. Some network staffers were rumored to be left “pea green with jealousy” over Collins’ sudden promotion.
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Network sources have since indicated that Collins will not continue hosting The Source at 9 PM for much longer.
“Kaitlin Collins will go down as Chris Licht’s original sin,” one veteran news source said on Sunday. “She was the perfect high-visibility White House Correspondent for the Trump years and a rare American in coastal network media.”
Another source close to CNN added that Collins “is still too green for the role” and “it was a mistake to cast her in primetime without giving her adequate preparation.”
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