Embattled CNN Media Editor Oliver Darcy Goes on Leave Just Days After Being Torn a New One by Network Boss Chris Licht
May 18 2023, Published 9:05 a.m. ET
CNN Media Editor Oliver Darcy announced he was taking an abrupt leave of absence shortly after sparring with boss Chris Licht over the network’s decision to host a town hall event with Donald Trump last week, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Darcy, who took over the network’s Reliable Sources newsletter after Brian Stelter was axed last year, announced his sudden “vacation” via the newsletter issued on Wednesday evening.
“Hello there,” Darcy wrote. “Before we get started, a housekeeping note: I am heading off on a pre-planned vacation.”
“Yes, I know what you're thinking,” he continued. “I've covered many ‘pre-planned’ vacations before. But I can assure you, this is *not* that. It's my wife's 30th birthday and we are headed off for a few days somewhere special.”
“Rest assured, I'll be back in your inbox on Wednesday,” the network media editor concluded. “This newsletter will be on a mini-break until then.”
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Darcy’s decision to take a “pre-planned vacation” this week came just days after Licht “put the fear of God” into him after Darcy was publicly critical of the Trump town hall that aired on the network.
Licht reportedly summoned a private meeting with Darcy after the network media editor used his Reliable Sources newsletter to disparage the CNN CEO’s decision to host a town hall with Trump.
"Trump lied about the 2020 election. He took no responsibility for the January 6 insurrection that those very lies incited. And he mocked E. Jean Carroll's allegations of sexual assault, which a jury found him liable for on Tuesday," Darcy said in the newsletter after the town hall event aired May 10.
"And CNN aired it all. On and on it went. It felt like 2016 all over again,” he continued. “It was Trump's unhinged social media feed brought to life on stage.”
"How Licht and other CNN executives address the criticism in the coming days and weeks will be crucial. Will they defend what transpired at Saint Anselm College? Or will they express some regret?"
After the newsletter was published last week, Licht reportedly called Darcy, Darcy’s editor, and other network executives into his office.
Licht reportedly told Darcy that his coverage of the Trump town hall event was “too emotional” and reiterated the network was trying to remain unbiased in its coverage.
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Network sources familiar with the meeting later claimed Darcy was left “visibly shaken” from the tense meeting with Licht and that the CNN CEO had “put the fear of God into” the Reliable Sources writer.
Meanwhile, amid concerns he might be axed from his role with the network and just before announcing his leave of absence, Darcy took to Twitter to reassure his audience he was still working for CNN.
“Still here and still going strong!” Darcy wrote just before midnight on Monday. “Here's the latest edition of the [Reliable Sources] newsletter.”
