Veteran ‘60 Minutes‘ correspondent Bill Whitaker admitted in an “emotional” toast that he feels like he’s a traitor amid infighting.
During a Friday episode of the Power Lines podcast produced by Status, media reporter Oliver Darcy shared details about Whitaker’s emotional toast at a party held by Jonathan LaPook, the CBS News chief medical correspondent.
LaPook hosted current and former “60 Minutes” staffers, including some fired by CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss. CBS News has faced criticism for its makeover under Weiss’ leadership that has led to plummeting ratings and an exodus at “60 Minutes,” its flagship program. Darcy said that Lesley Stahl and “former show boss” Tanya Simon were at LaPook’s party, among others.
“I feel like you could just like cut the tension with a knife,” mused Power Lines co-host Jon Passantino. “That sounds like a fascinating room to be in.”
Whitaker gave a candid and “impassioned” toast to everyone at the party, according to Darcy, who relayed what he heard about the event.
“He said it’s like a seesaw, and that some days he feels like a traitor – ‘Traitor’ is a verbatim word, is my understanding – for staying at the show and not leaving in solidarity with the people who were fired,” Darcy said. “And then he said on other days he feels like he’s part of the resistance inside ’60 Minutes.’”
Correspondents such as Scott Pelley, Sharyn Alfonsi, Cecilia Vega, and Anderson Cooper have either left the show or been fired, along with producers and other behind-the-scenes staffers, including Stephen Colbert’s daughter, Madeleine Carlisle.
Whitaker also “had criticism he leveled against management and apparently was fairly emotional during the speech,” Darcy said. “It lines up with everything that we’ve been reporting at Status over the past several weeks, months, that Bill Whitaker is not really thrilled to be at the show.”
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