Did Jake Tapper call Chris Cuomo 'terrorist'? CNN staff erupts over Jeff Zucker resignation
Top talents of CNN are expressing anger over the sudden resignation of network president Jeff Zucker. In a leaked audio clip of the company meeting, star journalist Jake Tapper confronted Warner Media’s CEO Jason Kilar over the idea that Zucker was forced out by Chris Cuomo. In the heated meeting Tapper demanded Kilar to address the perception that Zucker lost his job by declining to pay Chris Cuomo the $18 million remaining on his contract.
According to the audio recording leaked by Business Insider, Tapper said, “the perception that Chris Cuomo gets fired by CNN... Chris Cuomo hires a high-powered lawyer who has a scorched-earth policy, who then makes it very clear to the world that unless Jeff gives Chris Cuomo his money, they're going to blow the place up.” In the meeting Tapper also referred to Cuomo as “terrorist”.
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White House chief correspondent Kaitlan Collins also supported Tapper’s claim by saying that Zucker’s resignation was in fact the result of Chris Cuomo’s wrath. "I think the issue is that it's not a perception. What Jake just described is actually what happened here," said Collins.
Zucker was allegedly made to resign with immediate effect after Kilar and bosses at WarnerMedia’s parent company AT&T talked to Cuomo’s lawyers. The former president of CNN reportedly wanted to resign after AT&T’s $43 billion deal with Discovery was through but was instead made to resign immediately owing to Cuomo and Zucker's strained relationship with Kilar.
Cuomo who is determined to get his money is still threatening a lawsuit against CNN. Apparently, to get rid of the lawsuit, the network is considering striking a deal with Cuomo for $9 million.
Jim Acosta, chief domestic correspondent, warned 'pretty serious consequences'. “If we had not had Jeff Zucker here during the Trump administration, we probably would have been taken out. You would have something like 'Fox News Light' on CNN right now, no offense." he said.