Former CNN anchor Brooke Baldwin asked her previous employer to consider a new female primetime host in an Instagram video on Sunday while addressing the termination of scandal-ridden host Chris Cuomo.
"Just like so many of you I saw the news on Saturday about a sudden change in CNN primetime, and I have no comment on that decision," Baldwin said on Sunday. "But just as someone, as a woman who worked there for over a decade who has the utmost respect for my former colleagues, I just wanted to share something with you today, and that is when I saw the news pop onto my phone, I did something I hadn’t done since I left that place. I went back and I rewatched my parting words on my last newscast back in April."
Former CNN anchor Brooke Baldwin
Upon her departure from CNN in April, Baldwin aired her grievances about the lack of opportunities for women at the network.
"The most influential anchors on our network, the highest-paid, are men. My bosses, my executives, are men. The person who oversees CNN day side is a man, and my executive producer for 10 years is a man. So I’ve been surrounded by a lot of men," Baldwin said.
She reiterated these comments in her Instagram video.
The CNN headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, Oct. 29, 2018. (REUTERS/Chris Aluka Berry) (Reuters)
"What’s happening now creates this opportunity, which is exactly what I was talking about. And so, I’ll say it. I would like to see CNN put a woman in that 9 p.m. spot. Not me, I’ve moved on, but there are plenty of brilliant woman they could choose from," Baldwin said.
"The way we change the game for us is to put more women, brown, Black, White women in positions of power," she added. "And yes, of course, we need more seats at the table, but we also need to build a better, more inclusive table. And CNN primetime has been dominated by male hosts, and y’all, it’s nearly 2022. Wouldn’t you like to see a woman successfully lead in primetime?"
CNN suspended Chris Cuomo "indefinitely, pending further evaluation" after newly released documents shed new light on his role in former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s sexual misconduct scandal. (CNN)
Cuomo’s termination at CNN followed a one-week suspension after a New York attorney general investigation showed him using his media connections in an attempt to cover for the scandals surrounding his brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. CNN announced Cuomo’s official firing in a statement on Saturday.
"Chris Cuomo was suspended earlier this week pending further evaluation of new information that came to light about his involvement with his brother's defense. We retained a respected law firm to conduct the review, and have terminated him, effective immediately," the statement read. "While in the process of that review, additional information has come to light. Despite the termination, we will investigate as appropriate."
Fox News’ Brian Flood and Jon Brown contributed to this report.
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