‘60 Minutes’ Legend Bill Whitaker Discusses New CBS Bosses

Leigh Vogel / Getty Images for Uber, X and The Free Press A star correspondent at beleaguered CBS show 60 Minutes has shared his feelings about staying on at the program under its MAGA-curious new bosses.

Once a flagship news magazine for CBS, 60 Minutes has been mired in controversy since the network’s parent company was taken over by David Ellison, son of billionaire Trump ally Larry Ellison.

The younger Ellison installed Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief of CBS News, leading to an exodus of reporters and staff, with some citing political interference in their stories to appease the Trump administration.

Two of the program’s longest-running reporters have remained on staff ahead of the show returning on September 13: Bill Whitaker and Lesley Stahl.

Whitaker revealed his complicated thoughts on working at 60 Minutes under Weiss during a private gathering last week, according to a new report by Status .

The event, hosted by Dr.

Jonathan LaPook, chief medical correspondent for CBS News, saw Stahl and Whitaker join purged former colleagues including correspondent Scott Pelley and former executive producer Tanya Simon.

Whitaker reportedly compared the current climate at 60 Minutes to a “seesaw,” and told colleagues he feels like a “traitor” for not quitting his job in solitary with those fired by Weiss.

Whitaker added that he feels like a member of the “resistance” at 60 Minutes , but said he believed the iconic show could endure the storm it is currently in with Weiss at the helm.

The report said it was clear to those who attended the Manhattan event that Whitaker “remains emotionally torn” over his decision to stay at 60 Minutes .

The Daily Beast has contacted CBS for comment.

On a single day in May that staffers have since dubbed “ Black Thursday ,” Weiss fired Simon, executive editor Draggan Mihailovich, senior producer Matthew Polevoy, and correspondent Cecilia Vega, while correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi’s contract was not renewed the same week.

Days later, Weiss’s replacement for Simon, Nick Bilton , fired veteran correspondent Scott Pelley “for cause” after Pelley told him in front of staff that Weiss was “murdering” 60 Minutes .

Bilton has no previous experience working in TV news.