EXCLUSIVE: Anderson Cooper Set to Flee CNN Coop — Veteran Host Tells Pals He Won't Work With New Boss Bari Weiss and is Ready to Walk

Months after Anderson Cooper split the scene following 20 years at 60 Minutes, after CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss showed up, RadarOnline.com can reveal he'll do the same at CNN if she ends up there, too.

In fact, some insiders said the popular anchor is ready to set sail for the relatively calm seas of entertainment TV with the help of his buddy and Bravo honcho Andy Cohen.

"Anderson has something almost no one else in television possesses – true financial freedom," a source told RadarOnline.com. "He's never been trapped by a paycheck. If he believes a newsroom no longer reflects his values, he can simply leave."

The star anchor, 59, has reportedly told colleagues at the struggling news network that he has no intention to work for the beleaguered CBS News chief. The comments come as Paramount, which owns CBS, is poised to acquire CNN's parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, in a blockbuster $111billion consolidation.

Weiss is reportedly being considered for the same kind of control over the network that she has at CBS News, where she engineered a bloodbath of talent throughout the division.

Sources said it was her arrival that convinced Cooper it was time to leave at the end of his contract months later.

"He wasn't comfortable with the direction the show was taking under Bari and is in a position where he doesn't have to put up with it," a source said.

In fact, after Cooper's former 60 Minutes colleague Scott Pelley was axed by Weiss' handpicked executive producer for the show, Pelley said Weiss was "murdering" the program, adding that the staff departures were like "watching your spouse being murdered."

On his last broadcast of the show in April, a seemingly disillusioned Cooper said: "I hope 60 Minutes remains 60 Minutes."

Now that Weiss' arrival seems imminent at CNN, sources said Cooper's departure won't be far behind.