Jobless news veteran Scott Pelley broke down in tears as he claimed the hysterical tirade that got him fired from “60 Minutes” was a response to the “murders” of his “family” in a “Black Thursday massacre” at the show.
Pelley, 68, broke down in tears several times during an interview with the New York Times as he discussed for the first time being axed from CBS News after nearly four decades at the network.
He conceded that he had been hyperbolic to accuse new network boss Bari Weiss of murdering “60 Minutes” — just to go even further, claiming it was the staff themselves that she murdered.
“No one saw the Black Thursday massacre coming,” Pelley told the paper of the network laying off senior staff, including executive producer Tanya Simon.
“The night before, Tanya and I were at the Emmy Awards, and we won two Emmys. Within hours, all of those people have been wiped out, and one-third of our correspondents have been fired,” he said.
“My colleagues and I have worked together 10, 20, 30 years. We travel together. We dine together. We go into literal combat together,” Pelley continued.
“So, these bonds are pretty tight, and when somebody wipes out, murders, a large number of your family members, people are desperate for some explanation, and as you and I sit here today, there still has been none,” he said.
In addition to Simon, CBS had let go of correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega, senior executive producer Draggan Mihailovich, veteran producer Guy Campanile and staffer Matthew Polvoy.
“It’s like your spouse being murdered,” he said in an irrational overreaction to the job losses.
“I am not emotional about this because I have lost this job. I’ve done it for a long time. I’ve had the greatest experiences. But the people I leave behind, treated in this way? That breaks my heart, and it’s going to take me a long time to get over it.”
Pelley was fired after he raged against Weiss in a fiery June 2 meeting, claiming she was “brought in to kill” 60 Minutes, sources told The Post. Weiss was not present at the meeting.
He told The Times he typically tries to not be so reactionary, but was apparently unable to help himself.
“I’m almost 69 years old, and if I’ve learned one thing in life, it is not to reflexively react when you feel that way. I thought, I’m going to give it a day. I’m too emotionally wrought up. I am going to say the wrong thing,” he said.
CBS News terminated Pelley after the confrontation, which he insisted “t hadn’t occurred to” him could happen, despite the headline-grabbing attack at his bosses.
“Some reporter I turned out to be. I just didn’t connect the dots,” he said — while correctly noting that headlines on his interview would focus “the parts where I’m crying and say I’m a lunatic.”
