Scott Pelley Says CBS News Pressured Him to 'Inject Falsehoods and Bias' Before Ouster From 60 Minutes

Scott Pelley accused CBS News leadership of pressuring him to "inject falsehoods and bias" into reporting at "60 Minutes" after the veteran journalist was fired Tuesday following a confrontation with network executives over recent staffing cuts and editorial direction at the program.

"The leadership of 60 Minutes is no longer recognizable," Pelley said in a statement released hours after his dismissal. "The principles I hold dear are gone, and so I must leave as well."

Pelley, who spent nearly four decades at CBS News and joined "60 Minutes" in 2004, alleged that network management instructed him to include "assertions that are unverified" in a politically sensitive story. "To date, in every case, I have managed to ignore these instructions or refuse them," reads the statement shared by Deadline.

The dispute followed escalating tensions inside CBS News after a series of dismissals at "60 Minutes," including executive producers and correspondents Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi. According to reporting The Guardian, Pelley sharply criticized CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss and newly appointed executive producer Nick Bilton during a staff meeting Monday.

"She's murdering 60 Minutes," Pelley said of Weiss during the meeting. "She does not love this place. She was brought in to kill it and is doing exactly that."

Bilton informed Pelley of his firing Tuesday evening in a letter accusing the correspondent of "misconduct" and describing his behavior during the meeting as a "performative display of hostility." Bilton wrote that Pelley had "hijacked" the meeting with "remarkable incivility and contempt."

In his public statement, Pelley linked the turmoil at CBS News to broader political pressures surrounding Paramount's ownership transition and its relationship with the Trump administration. "The new owner of our network is casting this legend aside, apparently to curry a moment of favor with the Trump administration," he wrote.

Pelley also claimed politicians had recently been invited to select correspondents for interviews on "60 Minutes," adding that "giving politicians control over 60 Minutes interviews is not how this is done."

The firing prompted reactions across the political and media spectrum. Liberal commentator Harry Sisson praised Pelley for standing up to "right wing grifters," while conservative commentator Clay Travis argued that legacy television figures overestimate their influence in today's media environment.

Megyn Kelly, meanwhile, mocked Bilton's lengthy termination letter, writing on social media that a shorter dismissal "would have been far more impactful and less needy."

Pelley's departure leaves "60 Minutes" with three full-time correspondents ahead of its upcoming season. CBS News has not publicly responded to his allegations regarding editorial interference.