Jobless news veteran Scott Pelley broke down in tears as he claimed the hysterical tirade that got him fired from “60 Minutes” was a response to the “murders” of his “family” in a “Black Thursday massacre” at the show.
Pelley, 68, broke down several times during an interview with the New York Times as he discussed for the first time being axed from CBS News after nearly four decades at the network.
He conceded that he had been hyperbolic to accuse new network boss Bari Weiss of murdering “60 Minutes” — just to go even further, claiming it was the staff themselves that she murdered.
“It’s like your spouse being murdered,” he said at one point of the rejigging of staff with newcomers in to take charge at the show.
“No one saw the Black Thursday massacre coming,” Pelley told the paper of the network laying off senior staff, including executive producer Tanya Simon.
“The night before, Tanya and I were at the Emmy Awards, and we won two Emmys. Within hours, all of those people have been wiped out, and one-third of our correspondents have been fired,” he said.
“My colleagues and I have worked together 10, 20, 30 years. We travel together. We dine together. We go into literal combat together,” Pelley continued.
“So, these bonds are pretty tight, and when somebody wipes out, murders, a large number of your family members, people are desperate for some explanation, and as you and I sit here today, there still has been none,” he said.
Here you go, Scott: Bye-Bye Scott! The Worst of CBS 60 Minutes Correspondent Pelley.
Pelley on Iranian Dictator: “Genuinely Humble” “No Fancy Clothes, Fancy Cars” “Absolutely Incorruptible”
“He [Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad] is genuinely religious, genuinely humble, there are no fancy clothes, fancy cars, he lives with his wife and his three children. They live in an apartment in Tehran. He is a very modest man and said to be absolutely incorruptible as well, he’s a fascinating character.”
— Scott Pelley discussing his interview with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on CBS’s Early Show, September 24, 2007.Republicans Just Like Timothy McVeigh
“In April, terrorists tried to kill them. Today, politicians stopped their paychecks. In Oklahoma City’s Social Security office, they’re being ordered to work for nothing.”
— Correspondent Scott Pelley reporting on the government shutdown on CBS Evening News, January 2, 1996.
Meanwhile, here’s Pelley himself. Biased? CBS News? What on earth are you talking about?
Scott Pelley says Bari Weiss asked 60 Minutes staffers: “Why do you think the country thinks you’re biased?"
Pelley: "Why do you think so? Do you have a poll? Is there market research? What are you talking about?"
"Because we certainly didn't believe that."
Incredible. pic.twitter.com/dFYYob38Xj
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) June 7, 2026
As Glenn wrote in his latest Substack: Scott Pelley Is Out. So What? “Pelley was a big shot in the media world when he sat atop a big CBS operation. But even then he mattered a lot less in the real world than he thought. He will no longer be such a big shot anywhere after he’s gone. Just ask Keith Olbermann. If you can find him.”
UPDATE:
Give me a break. I worked at Viacom/CBS (now Paramount) for over a decade. Of course, it was +90% Democrats.
Everyone knows this. Everyone.
And newsrooms in particular vote Democrat to a higher degree than Berkeley, California.
And you know what? Fine. I have lots of… https://t.co/OjwkeDfIWd
— John Papola (@JohnPapola) June 7, 2026
Tweet concludes, “To act as if this claim about bias is controversial, let alone inaccurate, shows that he’s either a liar, an imbecile, or so deeply incurious and tunnel-visioned that you don’t belong anywhere near any job involving information discernment. But he’s got that familiar anchor voice, so we’re supposed to act like he’s not being a complete clown. Give me a break. You people are a mess.”