Ashleigh Banfield ‘Tossed Aside’ For Chris Cuomo Who’s Set To Take Over Her Time Slot On NewsNation
NewsNation’s biggest star, Ashleigh Banfield, found out that a bigger star than her, Chris Cuomo, was joining the struggling news network just minutes before everyone else did.
“The Chris Cuomo announcement was so top secret, only a handful of people at the network knew. Most people thought Chris was appearing to plug his new podcast, unaware that Chris would announce that he would soon be a colleague,” sources tell RadarOnline.com. “Ashleigh was already pissed that since leaving CNN wasn’t going to be on her star. But when she found out that Chris would also be announcing that he was joining NewsNation she blew a gasket.”
So far, the network has refused to say who Cuomo will be replacing in the primetime lineup, but there are already rumors that it could be Banfield.
“Chris’ show at CNN was on each weekday at 9 PM. It only makes sense that he would get the same slot at NewsNation. However, his dear friend Dan Abrams currently has the 9 PM slot and Chris doesn’t want to upset him. Ashleigh currently has the 10 PM timeslot, and isn’t friends with Chris,” reveals an insider.
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Making matters worse is the fact that Banfield shoots her show in Chicago. Cuomo and Abrams will be shooting in New York.
“They are currently building a new muti-million-dollar studio on 42nd street for Dan and Chris,” adds a source. “Dan’s show and Chris’ show will run back-to-back to keep costs down. They can use the same crew without any break making it much cheaper. Which means Chris will either have to take the 8 PM slot, or the 10 PM slot and replace Ashleigh.”
Chris Cuomo Arrives At NewsNation’s Studios Ahead Of Highly-Anticipated Dan Abrams Interview
Big picture, Banfield is not just angry about Cuomo taking her place in primetime. She is also angry at how the whole announcement went down.
“Clearly, Chris is the big new dog. It’s all about Chris now. He is the new shiny toy and everyone else has been tossed aside,” an insider tells RadarOnline.com.