Scott Pelley was fired from CBS’ 60 Minutes after an allegedly tense standoff with executive producer Nick Bilton.
“You should hear this from me first. We have parted ways with Scott Pelley,” a note distributed to CBS staffers and obtained by The Hollywood Reporter in June 2026 read. “I know how much Scott meant to many of you, and I don’t say this lightly. I made repeated attempts to have direct conversations with him over the weekend, and this afternoon I tried to find common ground. That was not the path Scott chose.”
Pelley allegedly questioned Bilton’s appointment as the new 60 Minutes EP during a recent staff meeting, per leaked audio.
“At 60 Minutes, we have fought harder than anyone knows to save the program that became an American icon. We owed that to our millions of viewers,” the veteran journalist said in a statement after his firing. “I am deeply moved by the thousands of wishes we have received to ‘keep up the good fight.’ Most of the men and women of CBS News are still in that fight, but now the collapse of values at the top has become untenable.”
CBS Picks Nick Bilton as New ’60 Minutes’ Leader, 1st From Outside TV News
Pelley continued, alleging, “The leadership of 60 Minutes is no longer recognizable. The principles I hold dear are gone, and so I must leave as well.”
Keep scrolling to learn more about Bilton:
Nick Bilton Is a Journalist
Bilton is a technology journalist and documentarian who has served as columnist for The New York Times and Vanity Fair.
“Known for probing the most talked-about issues of our time, Bilton specializes in creating thought-provoking nonfiction content across a multitude of mediums,” his website reads. “He has produced several documentaries, scripted television shows, feature films, two New York Times-bestselling nonfiction books and a Webby Award-winning podcast. Bilton’s investigative reporting has had a major impact on policy, industry and public accountability.”
Is Nick Bilton Married?
Nick has been married to author Chrysta Bilton for over a decade.
“Feeling very thankful for @nickbilton, who’s responsible for most of the blessings in my life, and who cooks one incredible Thanksgiving feast,” Chrysta wrote via Instagram in 2017. “My only contribution was clipping a little rosemary from the garden… without which, I don’t think the meal would taste nearly as good. 🌱💕.”
Nick and Chrysta welcomed sons Somerset and Emerson in 2015 and 2017, respectively.
What Happened Between Nick Bilton and Scott Pelley?
Pelley was fired in June 2026 after allegedly criticizing Bilton’s role as the executive producer of 60 Minutes. According to an NBC News report, Bilton slammed Pelley for undermining his leadership.
“You hijacked my first meeting with staff to disparage me,” Bilton wrote Pelley in an email obtained by NBC. “[It] demonstrated that you have no interest in contributing to the future success of the show.”
Pelley denied the accusations.
“Last month, 60 Minutes lost its DNA when our entire senior leadership and two of our best on-air correspondents were cruelly fired without cause,” Pelley said in his own statement. “Good people were silenced because they stood up for our audience. They stood for fairness against the forces of political bias; they stood for professionalism against chaos. … For my part, new management has instructed me to inject falsehoods and bias into a politically sensitive story. I’ve been told to include assertions that are unverified.”
