A Variety report from Tatiana Siegel claimed that former CNN President Jeff Zucker is desperate to purchase his former company has led the executive to ask for a retraction.
Zucker was reportedly “stunned” by the insinuation and was described as “more baffled than angry” by TheWrap.
In Siegel’s report on the demise of Chris Licht’s tenure at CNN and what went on behind the scenes, she reported that Zucker was bitter over his ouster from the network. She alleges Zucker attended a Formula One race in Abu Dhabi to secure funding with hopes to purchase CNN from Warner Bros. Discovery.
Those close to Zucker have continually denied he has an interest in purchasing the company, despite reportedly launching RedBird IMI with the hopes of investing in media outlets.
“There used to be a time when Variety held its content and its reporters to a high standard of truth and facts in journalism, but those days are clearly over,” Risa Heller, a spokesperson for Zucker told CNN’s Oliver Darcy. “It is stunning to read a piece that is so patently and aggressively false.”
