Piers Morgan alleged that CNN anchor Anderson Cooper “backstabbed” him during his former employment at CNN.
Morgan told podcast host Kara Swisher in a Monday interview that his colleagues at CNN were “a lot less friendly” than those at Fox News, where he currently serves as a contributor. He made the remark while explaining the reason he returned Rupert Murdoch’s company, News Corps, where he previously worked its newspaper, News of the World, in 1994.
“I didn’t think it did change much at all, many of the same people were still there,” Morgan replied. “I gotta say, and this, you know, people can believe this or not, but I find it a very friendly collegiate place to work. Everyone’s very nice. When I was at CNN, it could be a lot less friendly than Fox. A lot more back biting, a lot more backstabbing actually in some case.”
He then suggested that Cooper participated in this alleged “backstabbing” at the network.
“Don’t wanna mention names, but Anderson Cooper knows where he is. And I found that Fox — I found that Fox is a different atmosphere by contrast,” he added.
NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 27: (L-R) CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, CNN anchor Erin Burnett, and CNN host of” Piers Morgan Tonight” Piers Morgan attend the launch party for CNN’s “Erin Burnett OutFront” at Robert atop the Museum of Arts and Design on September 27, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)
The longtime media figure, who hosted a show on CNN from 2011 to 2014, touched upon the major changes to political leanings over the years. The network’s president, Chris Licht, has made several housekeeping changes in an attempt to increasingly shift to bipartisan coverage. (RELATED: Piers Morgan Says Meghan Markle Being At Queen’s Funeral Is ‘Hard To Stomach’)
“The way — if you look at how networks have changed, what happened at CNN in the last few years was fascinating,” Morgan said. “You know, they went from being a completely nonpartisan, impartial, non-political network to an outright open Trump bashing entity.”
NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 25: Piers Morgan, speaks during a taping of CNN’s Piers Morgan Tonight at the annual Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) meeting on September 25, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Ramin Talaie/Getty Images)
Licht terminated the employment of former anchor Brian Stelter and former White House correspondent John Harwood, both of whom had been notably left-leaning in their coverage and commentary. His leadership has been hit with massive layoffs, a drop in profitability and ratings at the end of the 2022.
The network’s profit is set to drop below $1 billion for the first time since 2016 with the rise of digital subscriptions, CNBC reported in October, citing a business review. The profitability cut led Licht to announce a massive number of layoffs in a Nov. 30 memo.