Jeff Zucker has resigned as the president of CNN. He was asked to disclose something about a close relationship with a colleague, but he had to step down from his job because he chose not to.
Zucker sent a company-wide email saying he was leaving his job after nine years. He was asked about the consensual relationship with a close colleague as investigations were being conducted into Chris Cuomo, former CNN anchor.
Brian Stelter, the CNN media correspondent, shared the email in a tweet.
Zucker revealed that the relationship had evolved over the last couple of years. When he was asked to say when the relationship began, he could not, which was why he had decided to resign.
In the email, the former president of CNN did not say who he was in a relationship with. Nevertheless, Stelter admitted that the person he was trying to protect was Allison Gollust, CNN executive.
Gollust confirmed the relationship in a different memo she sent to employees. She explained that they had been close friends and professional partners for more than two decades.
She also revealed that their relationship had changed during the pandemic. Gollust also expressed regret that they had not disclosed it at the right time.
She said she was proud of her time at CNN and confessed that she was anxious to keep doing her job every day.
The resignation by Zucker came a year after CNN announced that he was close to leaving the network. He had decided to stay until at least the end of 2021.
Zucker had joined the network back in 2013.
Last year, Gollust emerged as the leading candidate for president after Zucker left. Curiously, they had noticed that she was always by Zucker's side at the office and in the field.
Before working at CNN, Zucker and Gollust were working at NBC Universe. He was the president and chief executive, while Gollust was the corporate communications executive vice president.
In the email he sent, Zucker did not explain why he was being questioned with regard to Cuomo, who was fired in December. Cuomo was under investigation after helping his brother, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, while he was being investigated for sexual misconduct.
Before she became part of CNN, Gollust worked as a communications director for the governor's office for a short while.
