Allison Gollust Resigns From CNN After Jeff Zucker Romance Comes To Light

Allison Gollust stepped down from her position as Chief Marketing Officer at CNN, nearly two weeks after Jeff Zucker resigned in disgrace as president of CNN Worldwide, and two months after the network terminated Chris Cuomo.

Zucker had left the network after acknowledging his failure to disclose his “consensual” relationship with his colleague which violated company policies.

In a statement issued Tuesday, Jason Kilar, the head of CNN’s parent company WarnerMedia, said Gollust resigned following the conclusion of a “comprehensive and definitive” probe performed by a third-party law firm and examined issues associated with Chris Cuomo and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

“Earlier today, Allison Gollust resigned from CNN following the conclusion of the company’s investigation into issues associated with Chris Cuomo and former Governor Andrew Cuomo,” he said. “Based on interviews of more than 40 individuals and a review of over 100,000 texts and emails, the investigation found violations of company policies, including CNN’s News Standards and Practices, by Jeff Zucker, Allison Gollust, and Chris Cuomo.”

Kilar said the result of the investigation, which began in September and was led by a former federal judge, was “troubling, disappointing, and painful to read.”

“These are valid feelings many of you have. We have the highest standards of journalistic integrity at CNN, and those rules must apply to everyone equally,” he said.

Meanwhile, Gollust lambasted WarnerMedia’s decision to announce the news of her resignation before she had a chance to share it herself.

Addressing her exit Tuesday night, the former CMO called the network’s announcement “an attempt to retaliate against me and change the media narrative in the wake of their disastrous handling of the last two weeks.” Gollust also resented being “treated this way,” after her many years of service at CNN.

“It is deeply disappointing that after spending the past nine years defending and upholding CNN’s highest standards of journalistic integrity, I would be treated this way as I leave,” she said in a statement.

Earlier this month, Gollust spoke out about Zucker’s resignation and revealed how their relationship evolved during the pandemic. “Jeff and I have been close friends and professional partners for over 20 years,” she told People. “Recently, our relationship changed during COVID. I regret that we didn’t disclose it at the right time.”