Brooke Baldwin left CNN in April 2021 and has never really spoken publicly about her exit. Until now.
In a story with Vanity Fair, Baldwin alleges she was mistreated by her executive producer, and later by then-CNN President Jeff Zucker, leading to her exit from the cable news outlet.
Baldwin claims after she moved from Atlanta to New York City, her executive producer stayed behind in Georiga, ultimately fraying their working relationship. She went on to claim that after the partnership grew completely untenable, she went to Zucker to ask for her producer to be reassigned inside the network.
The longtime anchor alleged a male colleague had done something similar. However, her request was denied. After her agent later informed her that Zucker was “furious” with her, she went to a meeting with the two. According to Baldwin, Zucker told her “I could give your show to someone in Washington tomorrow.” [Long pause] “But I won’t…because I believe you’re the best broadcaster on this network.”
She added over the next year, her stock began to decline inside the organization before ultimately being pulled off the air during the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election.
After Baldwin told a commenter on Instagram that it wasn’t her decision to be off the air, Zucker apparently decided it was time for her to leave the network.
“Jeff wanted me out. No explanation. Just out. From that moment on, after I’d spent 13 years at CNN, Jeff never spoke to me again,” Baldwin wrote. “Neither did my former executive producer, who ended up getting moved to another show for COVID-protocol reasons and then eventually promoted.”
She added that she was so concerned about bumping into Zucker during her final days at the network that she considered going to the bathroom in a Gatorade bottle at her desk to avoid the executive.
However, Brooke Baldwin — who spent 13 years at CNN, including anchoring CNN Newsroom — claimed she is viewing the situation as a positive one, allowing herself to change from within.
“Part of my own unraveling meant I became a believer in divorce. Including my divorce, so to speak, from CNN. Like my marriage ending, it was painful. I miss being a vessel for information and clarity and news—the good and the bad,” she wrote. “I miss my audience. But I’m experiencing a rebirth. As with a forest fire, you can burn out the debris and foster new growth.”
