Here’s what she has to say about Zucker’s resignation — and the relationship that made her “uncomfortable.”
Jeff Zucker, President of CNN Worldwide, has stepped down from his position as of Wednesday morning. Zucker’s resignation comes just months after he fired CNN anchor Chris Cuomo for advising his brother, former Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo, on how to handle a slew of sexual misconduct claims against him.
In a memo to CNN employees regarding his resignation, Zucker wrote: “As part of the investigation into Chris Cuomo’s tenure at CNN, I was asked about a consensual relationship with my closest colleague, someone I have worked with for more than 20 years. I acknowledged the relationship evolved in recent years. I was required to disclose it when it began but I didn’t. I was wrong. As a result, I am resigning today.”
The colleague to whom Zucker refers is Allison Gollust, who serves as Executive VP and Chief Marketing Officer, CNN Worldwide. Gollust had previously worked as the senior publicist for TODAY, while Zucker served as executive producer.
Katie has responded to Zucker’s resignation with the following exclusive statement through Katie Couric Media:
“I worked with Jeff Zucker for many years at NBC and later on my talk show. He was a talented and energetic producer. His resignation took me by surprise. I’ve also known Allison Gollust since my days at the TODAY show. I’ve wondered about the nature of their relationship, but I do know, as I wrote in my memoir Going There, that it made me uncomfortable. It seems their colleagues and the media at large turned a blind eye to inappropriate behavior.”
In her memoir Going There, Katie recalls that when, after appointing Zucker as executive producer of her daytime talk show Katie, Zucker asked if he could bring Gollust along to oversee publicity: “At a certain point Jeff made a huge push to bring on Allison Gollust…they were joined at the hip. The problem was, we’d already hired a PR person for the show. Jeff asked me to meet with her anyway.”
Katie questioned Zucker’s motives in wanting to hire Gollust, since there had been no need to add another PR role: “I had to wonder why Jeff was angling so hard to bring Allison on board. She and her husband and kids had moved into the apartment right above Jeff and Caryn’s [Zucker’s wife] — everyone who heard about the cozy arrangement thought it was super-strange. By that point, Caryn had become a close friend and it made me really uncomfortable.”
When Zucker ultimately quit his job as executive producer of Katie to become president of CNN, Katie writes that Gollust was his first hire.
