CBS Bloodbath: '60 Minutes' Veteran Scott Pelley Ousted After Explosive Showdown With Network Bosses
'60 Minutes' new executive producer announced Scott Pelley's firing.
June 2 2026, Published 10:33 p.m. ET
Scott Pelley has been dramatically fired from 60 Minutes, one day after telling off his new executive producer and accusing the CBS News Editor-in-Chief, Bari Weiss, of "murdering" the distinguished show, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Nick Bilton announced that Pelley, 68, had been "terminated for cause" and had been canned "effective immediately" on June 2, after the pair had a contentious meeting.
Scott Pelley's CBS Employment Was 'Terminated for Cause'
New '60 Minutes' executive producer Nick Bilton announced Scott Pelley's firing.
“Despite yesterday’s misconduct, I had hoped that in sitting down with you today, we could find a path forward together. You made clear that you are not interested in such a path," Bilton wrote to Pelley.
He told the 22-year 60 Minutes vet, "Your antipathy to the future of the show has come through loud and clear. And I have heard you.”
"Therefore, your employment with CBS is terminated for cause effective immediately," Bilton concluded.
Pelley was reportedly called into a meeting with Bilton and Weiss, along with CBS News president Tom Cibrowski and a representative from human resources. A source told Puck News that it ended with no clear path forward.
Nick Bilton Said He Tried to Find 'Common Ground' With Scott Pelley
Nick Bilton said Scott Pelley didn't chose a 'path of common ground' during their meeting.
Bilton wrote a memo to 60 Minutes staffers to let them know Pelley was gone.
“I know how much Scott meant to many of you, and I don’t say this lightly,” the former New York Times tech writer told his team.
“I made repeated attempts to have direct conversations with him over the weekend, and this afternoon I tried to find common ground. That was not the path Scott chose," the former documentarian explained.
Bilton acknowledged the seismic changes at the venerable news magazine matter of days, noting, "I realize this is a great deal of change in a very short time, and I wouldn’t pretend otherwise."
"I won’t relitigate the last week with you here,” he added. "What I will commit to is this: My unyielding support for each of you, the journalism that you do, and what we will do together going forward."
Scott Pelley Accused Bari Weiss of 'Murdering' '60 Minutes'
Scott Pelley accused CBS News boss Bari Weiss of being brought in to 'kill' '60 Minutes'
Bilton's hiring, coming with high praise from Weiss and Cibrowski, was announced on May 28, the same day that "Black Thursday" saw the terminations of his predecessor, Tanya Simon, executive editor Draggan Mihailovich, and correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega from 60 Minutes.
Pelley ripped into Bilton as his new boss held a meet-and-greet with his new staff on June 1, the audio of which was obtained by the New York Times.
The former Vanity Fair senior correspondent assured staffers in the meeting that "the show is going to stay exactly like it is for now," but acknowledged about the industry, “Broadcast is an ice cube that is melting."
When Bilton told staffers that Weiss “loves" the show, Pelley erupted in anger, yelling, "She is murdering 60 Minutes. She does not love this place. She was brought in to kill it, and she’s been doing exactly that."
The Free Press founder Weiss was hired in October 2025 amid a whirlwind of controversy, reportedly with marching orders to shake things up and steer the network toward a more centrist direction after it had gone too "woke."
Scott Pelley Told His New Boss 'You Will Never Be Welcome Here'
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Scott Pelley dressed down his new boss in front of the '60 Minutes' staff.
Pelley then tore into both Weiss's and Bilton's credentials, as neither had previously held a job in broadcast news.
"She has no qualifications for her job; you have slender qualifications for this job. The changes that she’s made at the Evening News have been catastrophic, so why should we expect that any of this is going to be any better?" he erupted.
Pelley went so far as to openly ask Bilton, in front of his new team, why he accepted his new position with the show, "knowing that you will never be welcome here."
The new 60 Minutes boss responded, "I have been a journalist for 25 years, Scott. I’ve sat across from incredibly powerful people like you have, and none of it intimidates me. OK? So you are not going to intimidate me in front of this group of people. I want that to be clear."
