Scott Pelley Was Fired From '60 Minutes' a Day After Confronting His New Boss
The long-time correspondent made plenty of noise on his way out the door.
Published June 3 2026, 9:49 a.m. ET
The new executive producer of 60 Minutes has already fired one of the most prominent correspondents on the long-time TV news magazine. Scott Pelley, who confronted Nick Bilton, the show's new executive producer, in a testy meeting in early June, has now been fired from the program and CBS, effective immediately.
Following the news that Scott had been fired, many wanted to better understand exactly what happened and why he was ultimately let go. Here's what we know.
Why was Scott Pelley fired?
Scott Pelley appears to have been fired as a direct result of a meeting he had with Bilton in which he confronted the executive producer about the way that 60 Minutes has been run since Bari Weiss took control of CBS News.
“Your antipathy to the future of the show has come through loud and clear. And I have heard you,” Bilton wrote in a letter to Pelley. “I therefore write on behalf of CBS News, Inc. to inform you that your employment with CBS is terminated for cause effective immediately."
In the letter, Bilton acknowledged that Pelley's behavior during a June 1 meeting designed to introduce Bilton to the show's staff was the reason for his firing.
“Yesterday’s performative display of hostility — enacted in front of the staff instead of in a civil, private conversation — demonstrated that you have no interest in contributing to the future success of the show, or approaching my new tenure with a mind open to collaboration and progress."
What did Scott Pelley say in his statement?
In a statement responding to his firing, Pelley said that "new management" had instructed him to “inject falsehoods and bias into a politically sensitive story."
He also said that “Incompetence and unprofessionalism in the new management have wreaked havoc. In a case involving one of my stories, the entire program came within 19 minutes of not getting on the air at all." He didn't provide any specifics.
Pelley had been with the network for 40 years, and he also took time in his statement to pay tribute to his colleagues at CBS News.
In his statement, he expressed“gratitude for the men and women of CBS News who encouraged and enriched my work, very often at the risk of their own lives. I pray for a day when those people and their ideals are honored again —a day when sanity, competence, and courage return.”
Nick Bilton was confronted over the changes that have been made to '60 Minutes.'
It seems clear from the nature of the June 1 meeting with Bilton that Pelley knew he would not be staying with the network. In that meeting, he said that the head of CBS News "does not love this place" and "was brought in to kill it."
He also asked about the firings of some of his former colleagues, including some who claimed, like Pelley, that stories had been punted for political reasons.
Pelley also asked Bilton why he took the job “knowing that you would never be welcomed here."