{"id":2450415,"date":"2026-06-08T19:24:53","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T19:24:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2450415"},"modified":"2026-06-08T19:24:53","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T19:24:53","slug":"lesley-stahl-calls-60-minutes-firings-the-hardest-chapter-of-my-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/lesley-stahl-calls-60-minutes-firings-the-hardest-chapter-of-my-career\/","title":{"rendered":"Lesley Stahl calls \u201c60 Minutes \u201dfirings &#8216;the hardest chapter of my career&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<h3 class=\"mb-4 text-lg font-bold\">Key Points<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"mb-4\">\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Lesley Stahl is opening up about the &#8220;hardest chapter&#8221; of her career \u2014 the recent firings at <em>60 Minutes<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;This was by far the worst experience I\u2019ve been involved in, or even witnessed,&#8221; the journalist told Puck News in a new interview.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Among the fired <em>60 Minutes <\/em>colleagues was Scott Pelley, who accused CBS Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss of &#8220;murdering&#8221; the newsmagazine.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Lesley Stahl is getting candid about the recent firings at <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/60-minutes\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:60 Minutes;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;60 Minutes&quot;}\" class=\"link \"><em>60 Minutes<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The correspondent and host addressed the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/scott-pelley-fires-back-at-trump-for-saying-he-doesnt-care-about-america-11993125\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:dismissals;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;dismissals&quot;}\" class=\"link \">dismissals<\/a> at <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/entity\/cbs\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:CBS;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;CBS&quot;}\" class=\"link \">CBS<\/a>&#8216; flagship TV news magazine and where she stands after what she called &#8220;the hardest chapter of my career.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;And it\u2019s been a long career,&#8221; she added, speaking with <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/puck.news\/why-lesley-stahl-decided-to-stay-at-60-minutes\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Puck News;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Puck News&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Puck News<\/a>. &#8220;It\u2019s been over 50 years. This was by far the worst experience I\u2019ve been involved in, or even witnessed. I mean, firing seven people, including the entire management team over here, plus reporters and producers\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Executive producer Tanya Simon, executive editor Draggan Mihailovich, and correspondents Cecilia Vega and <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/60-minutes-journalist-sharyn-alfonsi-loses-cbs-contract-after-bari-weiss-clash-11984892\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Sharyn Alfonsi;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Sharyn Alfonsi&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Sharyn Alfonsi<\/a> are among the recent firings amid CBS News&#8217; tumultuous transition.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-3 right-3 rounded-full bg-primary p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-primary\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" class=\"flex-none size-4 -scale-x-100 text-primary lg:size-6 [&amp;_path]:fill-current\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M3.1 3.1V11h1.8V6.314l5.392 5.393 1.415-1.414L6.313 4.9H11V3.1zm17.8 17.8V13h-1.8v4.686l-5.393-5.393-1.415 1.414 5.393 5.393H13v1.8z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-primary hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p><i>Donald Trump and Stahl on &#8217;60 Minutes&#8217; in 2016<br \/>Credit: CBS News<\/i><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Most recently, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/scott-pelley-exits-60-minutes-after-criticizing-cbs-news-bosses-11989638\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Scott Pelley was fired;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Scott Pelley was fired&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Scott Pelley was fired<\/a> from <em>60 Minutes<\/em> after <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/scott-pelley-says-cbs-news-boss-bari-weiss-murdering-60-minutes-11988527\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:accusing CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;accusing CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss&quot;}\" class=\"link \">accusing CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss<\/a> of &#8220;murdering&#8221; the long-running program, and told newly appointed Executive Producer Nick Bilton he had &#8220;slender&#8221; qualifications for his role during an explosive staff meeting.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;Your antipathy to the future of the show has come through loud and clear. And I have heard you,&#8221; Bilton wrote in a memo to Pelley, that was reviewed by <em>Entertainment Weekly<\/em>. &#8220;I therefore write on behalf of CBS News to inform you that your employment with CBS is terminated effective immediately.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">As for why he was fired, Stahl theorized that Pelley was let go because he didn&#8217;t get answers concerning why their colleagues were let go. \u201cThat\u2019s what he was agitated about,\u201d Stahl told the publication. \u201cTell us why they were fired. That was his question. He never got an answer. They felt he was insubordinate for asking that question.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/lesley-stahl-bill-whitaker-jon-wertheim-60-minutes-firings-11992043\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:In a memo released on Friday;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;In a memo released on Friday&quot;}\" class=\"link \">In a memo released on Friday<\/a>, Stahl and her <em>60 Minutes <\/em>colleagues Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim addressed whether or not they would remain on the show amid the firings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;We want to express how sorry we are that these principled, fair, and honest journalists were treated so shabbily, with such indecency,&#8221; the journalists said in part. &#8220;But, we have decided to stay on. We feared that our returning might be construed as an endorsement of the existing power structure. That is simply, categorically, not the case.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">They added: &#8220;We don&#8217;t want to see <em>60 Minutes<\/em> die. We have been grieving because this whole mess has wounded and damaged the broadcast.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In response to the journalists&#8217; memo, a CBS News spokesperson shared a statement with <em>Entertainment Weekly<\/em>, reading: \u201cWe&#8217;re excited for Season 59 with Lesley, Bill, and Jon as star correspondents and Nick at the helm.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><strong><em>Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our <\/em><\/strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/ew-dispatch-newsletter-11812417\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:EW Dispatch newsletter;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;EW Dispatch newsletter&quot;}\" class=\"link \"><strong><em>EW Dispatch newsletter<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong><em>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">She called the response to their statement from their colleagues &#8220;overwhelming,&#8221; saying, &#8220;It\u2019s been a gush of lovely thank-you notes, just a flood. All these producers, associate producers, editors, even cameramen have just been standing paralyzed, waiting for us to tell them what we were going to do, and that really weighed heavily on us.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Stahl added, &#8220;We don\u2019t want to leave you, these lovely people we work with every day. It\u2019s a big part of it, and they\u2019re thanking us, and that feels good. It feels very good.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"Stahl and former Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on '60 Minutes'Credit: CBS News\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"640\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/aW7AXMDeXPT25DE6EYzH1A--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/entertainment_weekly_785\/d404499b01cd45aa0d6c3c29cdde0edc\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-3 right-3 rounded-full bg-primary p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-primary\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" class=\"flex-none size-4 -scale-x-100 text-primary lg:size-6 [&amp;_path]:fill-current\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M3.1 3.1V11h1.8V6.314l5.392 5.393 1.415-1.414L6.313 4.9H11V3.1zm17.8 17.8V13h-1.8v4.686l-5.393-5.393-1.415 1.414 5.393 5.393H13v1.8z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-primary hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p><i>Stahl and former Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on &#8217;60 Minutes&#8217;<br \/>Credit: CBS News<\/i><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Looking forward, Stahl knows there will be &#8220;a lot of pressure&#8221; on her, Whitaker, and Wertheim &#8220;to step up and do more pieces than we\u2019ve been doing, and do them at the same level&#8230; We\u2019re trying to explain to Nick what the procedures are \u2014 all the layers of fact-checking and screenings, just layer upon layer of fresh eyes, always fresh eyes, looking over and over and over.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Read the original article on <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/lesley-stahl-reveals-new-details-60-minutes-firings-11993212\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Entertainment Weekly;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Entertainment Weekly&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Entertainment Weekly<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Points Lesley Stahl is opening up about the &#8220;hardest chapter&#8221; of her career \u2014 the recent firings at 60 Minutes. &#8220;This was by far the worst experience I\u2019ve been involved in, or even witnessed,&#8221; the journalist told Puck News in a new interview. Among the fired 60 Minutes colleagues was Scott Pelley, who accused [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2450416,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[405480,402269,481335,480388,479128,481336,457600],"class_list":["post-2450415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-60-minutes","tag-bari-weiss","tag-firings","tag-lesley-stahl","tag-nick-bilton","tag-puck-news","tag-scott-pelley"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Lesley-Stahl-calls-60-Minutes-firings-the-hardest-chapter-of.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2450415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2450415"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2450415\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2450417,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2450415\/revisions\/2450417"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2450416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2450415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2450415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2450415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}