CNN Boss Chris Licht's 'Days Are Numbered' At Struggling News Network, Will Be Gone 'Before Labor Day'
CNN boss Chris Licht will allegedly be gone from the struggling news network by Labor Day, RadarOnline.com has learned.
In a sudden development to come less than one year after Licht took over as CEO and chairman in April 2022, network insiders recently claimed Licht’s time at CNN is quickly coming to an end.
Even more surprising are reports that Licht’s allegedly imminent departure is a result of “frustrations” over the fact the 51-year-old newsman and producer is “scarcely more familiar” with CNN and its staff than he was when he took over for Jeff Zucker last year.
“He’s constantly with an entourage,” one network source told Page Six on Monday. “You see him rush by with his lackeys, but he doesn’t stop to talk with us regular folk. It’s like he’s scared of us.”
“The joke is that he’s never alone,” the insider continued. “Does he go to the bathroom alone?”
“He hates the job and can’t do it,” added another CNN insider, claiming the “consensus at CNN HQ” is that Licht’s “days are already numbered.”
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Licht’s nearly 12 months at CNN has resulted in countless shakeups, firings, and poor ratings despite his vision to save the struggling news network.
Not only have popular on-air talents been completely axed from the network – including the likes of Brian Stelter, Jeffrey Toobin, and John Harwood – but the network also recently recorded its worst ratings in nine years.
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CNN has also been embroiled in numerous controversies since Licht’s takeover for Zucker last year, including most recently on CNN This Morning when co-host Don Lemon came under fire after claiming newly announced 2024 White House candidate Nikki Haley is no longer “in her prime.”
“No wonder [Licht] had no idea that Don, Poppy [Harlow] and Kaitlan [Collins] were never going to gel,” one CNN insider recently said regarding Lemon and his two female CNN This Morning co-hosts. “[Licht] doesn’t have his ear to the ground.”
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David Zaslav (Center)
But despite Licht’s apparent failure to save the struggling news network, and despite the rumors Licht will be gone from the network before Labor Day, a CNN spokesperson has since spoken out to deny the reports regarding Licht’s alleged departure.
“Time will prove this story wrong,” a network spokesperson said this week. “We won’t be distracted by cheap shots from competitors and anonymous naysayers.”
“Total BS,” added a spokesperson for CNN's parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, over claims Warner Bros. Discovery President and CEO David Zaslav is “stuck” with Licht. “Chris has Zaslav’s full support. Zaslav is always publicly supportive of Chris.”