Sunny Hostin, co-host on "The View," says that CNN ought to fire disgraced ex-CNN head Jeff Zucker's girlfriend, Allison Gol...
Sunny Hostin, co-host on "The View," says that CNN ought to fire disgraced ex-CNN head Jeff Zucker's girlfriend, Allison Gollust, who works at the network as its executive vice president and chief marketing officer.
Zucker announced his abrupt resignation from the network earlier this week, citing that he failed to disclose the relationship with Gollust during the network's investigation into Chris Cuomo's tenure at CNN.
What are the details?
Hostin said on Thursday that she can't understand why Gollust is still employed at the network despite the relationship being in apparent violation of company policies.
“As women, don’t we want other women to be held to the same standards that we hold men?” Hostin said during the segment. “Everyone said ‘Yes, Jeff Zucker has to go!’ Why does Allison get to keep her job, when she also had an incredible indiscretion, and an incredible lack of judgement?”
Gollust issued a statement confirming the relationship following Zucker's resignation.
“Jeff and I have been close friends and professional partners for over 20 years,” she said at the time. “Recently, our relationship changed during COVID. I regret that we didn’t disclose it at the right time. I’m incredibly proud of my time at CNN and look forward to continuing the great work we do everyday.”
Media speculation, however, indicates that Zucker and Gollust have been in a relationship far longer than disclosed, calling into question the ethics of the relationship, as the two were married up until 2018 and 2017 respectively. Hostin also pointed to broadcaster Katie Couric's remarks on Zucker's and Gollust's relationship, which she questioned on Thursday.
"I worked with Jeff Zucker for many years at NBC and later on my talk show," Couric recently disclosed, noting that Gollust started out as a publicist at CNN and worked her way up to executive vice president and CMO. "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."
Hostin added, "It's inappropriate at best."
“I think that if I were still working at CNN and I was one of her direct reports, I would think she lacked judgment," Hostin reasoned. "I would be uncomfortable that she broke so many of those rules, and I would start questioning her leadership. I don’t think she should stay.”
Co-host Sara Haines said that she, too, believes such a relationship could cause problems in the office.
“I think the problem is the optics of this," she said. "Because if you have advanced at all or garnered special favor from a boss you’re intimate with, that’s problematic in a workplace."
What else is there to know about this?
The New York Post reported on Thursday that Zucker and Gollust's ties with the embattled Cuomo family went concerningly deep.
The outlet reported that Zucker and Gollust "made personal calls" in 2020 to New York ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) in an attempt to "make more flattering appearances on his brother Chris Cuomo's show."
The report continued, "Looking to keep Andrew Cuomo on his brother’s show and boost ratings even as controversy swirled around the puffy segments, Gollust personally called Cuomo and leaned on her 'good relationship' with the governor."
Zucker also is accused of reaching out to Cuomo at least once to urge him to come on his younger brother's CNN show and enjoyed a comfortable relationship with the former governor.
"Gollust joined Zucker on a trip to Israel on March 5, 2017, where they had dinner with Andrew Cuomo ... at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem," the report continued.
The report concluded, "A second source said Zucker was interviewed by CNN’s outside law firm Cravath — which is still conducting an independent investigation into Chris Cuomo — last week, when he was asked both about his relationship with Gollust and his cozy friendship with Andrew Cuomo."
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