Allison Gollust Resigns From CNN After WarnerMedia Investigation
Allison Gollust, chief marketing officer at CNN, has resigned following a WarnerMedia investigation into Chris Cuomo and his efforts to help his brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
A memo on Tuesday from CEO Jason Kilar said, “The investigation found violations of Company policies, including CNN’s News Standards and Practices, by Jeff Zucker, Allison Gollust, and Chris Cuomo.”
Details of the investigation comes two weeks after Jeff Zucker, former CNN president, resigned abruptly over failing to disclose his relationship with Gollust, who worked with him at NBCUniversal. Gollust rejoined CNN in 2013 as his “closest colleague,” and was identified earlier this month as the woman with whom Zucker had a “consensual relationship” that he did not disclose to CNN owner AT&T in apparent violation of company policies.
Gollust immediately fired back with a statement of her own, sent to her staff: “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,” she wrote.
Kilar’s memo did not address what company policies Zucker, Gollust and Cuomo violated — or specifically how they might have interfered with the network’s news standards and practices.
Many media insiders have questioned that the pair’s romance only began in the last two years; Zucker and his wife Caryn Nathanson separated in 2018 and later divorced; Gollust is also divorced from her husband, Tradewell Markets president William Hult. The couple have two children, Olivia and Ava.
Gollust previously acknowledged the relationship, but said it started during COVID, which many media insiders said was disingenuous if not an outright falsehood.
“Jeff and I have been close friends and professional partners for over 20 years. Recently, our relationship changed during COVID. I regret that we didn’t disclose it at the right time,” Gollust said in a statement previously. “I’m incredibly proud of my time at CNN, and look forward to continuing the great work we do every day.”
Many insiders recently told TheWrap they could not see how Gollust would continue to play a major role in the network going forward, with one former CNN senior exec previously saying, “Doesn’t it give him a continued ability to influence the organization, given how much power she had there and how close he and Allison are? Like when a baseball manager is thrown out by the umpires but he hides in the tunnel to the dugout whispering instructions to his bench coach.”
