Allison Gollust has resigned as CNN’s executive vice president and chief marketing officer and lashed out at the network’s ‘disastrous handling’ of an internal probe into her inappropriate open-secret relationship with former network president Jeff Zucker and the termination of Chris Cuomo.
The 49-year-old left the network following a third-party investigation into ‘issues associated with Chris Cuomo and former Governor Andrew Cuomo,’ WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar said in a statement.
Initial reports indicated that Chris Cuomo was fired for using his media influence to help coach his brother, former Governor Andrew Cuomo, through sexual assault allegations. On Tuesday, shortly after it was learned that Gollust resigned, it was revealed that Chris was facing an allegation of sexual assault from when he worked at ABC News.
Over the weekend, the investigation, which began in September, concluded that Gollust, Zucker and Chris Cuomo violated company policies including Standards and Practices, Kilar shared. ‘Based on interviews of more than 40 individuals and a review of over 100,000 texts and emails.’
‘I realize this news is troubling, disappointing, and frankly, painful to read. These are valid feelings many of you have,’ Kilar noted.
Gollust acknowledged her exit in a bitter email to her staff claiming that CNN was trying to undermine her in public. ‘WarnerMedia’s statement tonight is an attempt to retaliate against me and change the media narrative in the wake of their disastrous handling of the last two weeks.
‘It is deeply disappointing that after spending the past nine years defending and upholding CNN’s highest standards of journalistic integrity, I would be treated this way as I leave. But I do so with my head held high, knowing I gave my heart and soul to working with the finest journalists in the world.’
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SOURCE: Daily Mail, Adriana Diaz
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