CNN Executive VP Resigns Following Zucker Scandal, Investigation

• CNN executive vice president and chief marketing officer Allison Gollust resigned on Tuesday.
• The announcement comes 2 weeks after Jeff Zucker resigned his top position at the company.
• An investigation into company conduct uncovered Zucker and Gollust’s undisclosed relationship.

CNN executive vice president and chief marketing officer Allison Gollust resigned from the network on Tuesday following a months-long investigation into conduct by her and her former colleagues, according to a company memo tweeted out by CNN media reporter Brian Stelter.

The announcement comes two weeks after former CNN President Jeff Zucker resigned his position citing an undisclosed relationship that was uncovered during the network’s investigation into former anchor Chris Cuomo.

Cuomo was fired from CNN in December after it was revealed that he used his sources to help his brother, ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, fight sexual harassment allegations. The former anchor also faced his own allegation of sexual misconduct, which he denied.  

Following his resignation, Zucker said the “consensual relationship” was with his “closest colleague.” The New York Times later identified Gollust as that colleague. 

“Jeff and I have been close friends and professional partners for over 20 years,” Gollust said in an early February statement following Zucker’s exit from CNN. “Recently, our relationship changed during COVID. I regret that we didn’t disclose it at the right time.”

Time Warner CEO Jason Kilar told CNN staff in a Tuesday memo that a third-party investigation was commissioned in September and concluded this past weekend.

“Based on interviews of more than 40 individuals and a review of over 100,000 texts and emails, the investigation found violations of Company policies, including CNN News Standards and Practices, by Jeff Zucker, Allison Gollust, and Chris Cuomo,” Kilar wrote.  

Gollust released her own statement Tuesday evening, telling NPR that Warner Media’s statement is an attempt to retaliate against her 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,” Gollust said. “But I do so with my head held high, knowing that I gave my heart and soul to working with the finest journalists in the world.”