60 Minutes holdover Bill Whitaker frets that hes a traitor for remaining at Bari Weiss-led show: report

Veteran “60 Minutes” correspondent Bill Whitaker has privately admitted that he sometimes feels like a “traitor” for staying at the storied newsmagazine after Bari Weiss fired six of his colleagues — while on other days he considers himself part of the “resistance,” according to a report.Whitaker made the striking remarks during a recent gathering at the Central Park West home of CBS News chief medical correspondent Dr.Jonathan LaPook that was organized to honor the staffers ousted on what employees have dubbed “Black Thursday,” Status reported.The honorees were executive producer Tanya Simon, executive editor Draggan Mihailovich, producers Guy Campanile and Matthew Polevoy and correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega.Whitaker delivered remarks criticizing the firings, according to Breaker Media, which first reported the gathering.

The journo reportedly described his feelings about remaining at “60 Minutes” as a “seesaw” — telling the room that some days he worries he betrayed his former colleagues by staying, while on others, he views himself as pushing back from within.Whitaker also expressed confidence that the program would survive the upheaval, according to Status.Former correspondent Scott Pelley and current correspondent Lesley Stahl also attended the gathering, along with Simon and other current and former staffers.Alfonsi and Vega were traveling and did not attend.Whitaker’s conflicted remarks underscore the bind facing the remaining veterans after a series of departures dramatically shook up the program.Pelley was fired shortly after the six May dismissals following a heated confrontation with newly installed executive producer Nick Bilton.

Pelley attacked Bilton’s qualifications and accused Weiss of “murdering” “60 Minutes.”Anderson Cooper separately ended his nearly two-decade relationship with the broadcast.Whitaker, Stahl and Jon Wertheim ultimately decided to remain, but previously made clear that their ...