Allison Gollust, CNN's chief advertising and marketing officer, resigned on Tuesday after an investigation discovered she violated the corporate's insurance policies, WarnerMedia confirmed. The announcement comes practically two weeks after CNN president Jeff Zucker resigned over an undisclosed "consensual relationship" with a colleague, later reported to be Gollust.
WarnerMedia mentioned in a press release to CBS Information that a third-party investigation that concluded over the weekend discovered Zucker, Gollust and former "Cuomo Prime Time" host Chris Cuomo violated firm insurance policies, together with CNN's Information Requirements and Practices. The corporate didn't specify which insurance policies the previous staff violated.
Cuomo was fired in December for his function in serving to his brother, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, formulate his protection throughout a sexual harassment scandal. Earlier than Gollust got here to CNN, the community mentioned she briefly labored as communications director for Andrew Cuomo.
"We now have the very best requirements of journalistic integrity at CNN, and people guidelines apply to everybody equally," WarnerMedia mentioned inits Tuesday assertion.
The investigation carried out by an out of doors regulation agency, which launched in September, included interviews with 40 individuals and a overview of over 100,000 texts and emails, in line with WarnerMedia's assertion.
In a press release Tuesday evening, Gollust accused WarnerMedia of retaliation, saying that the corporate's assertion about her resignation was an try and "change the media narrative within the wake of their disastrous dealing with of the final two weeks."
"It's deeply disappointing that after spending the previous 9 years defending and upholding CNN's highest requirements of journalistic integrity, I'd be handled this manner as I depart," she mentioned in a press release to CBS Information. "However I accomplish that with my head held excessive, understanding that I gave my coronary heart and soul to working with the best journalists on the planet."
In a memo cited by CNN, Zucker mentioned on the time of his resignation that he had had a "consensual relationship" with a colleague that he didn't disclose when it started. Though Zucker did not identify his "closest colleague," CNN Enterprise reported it was Gollust. The corporate mentioned on the time that she would stay on the community.
"I used to be requested a few consensual relationship with my closest colleague, somebody I've labored with for greater than 20 years," Zucker mentioned within the memo. "I acknowledged the connection developed lately. I used to be required to reveal it when it started however I did not. I used to be fallacious."
The 56-year-old Zucker, who labored at CNN since 2013 and was certainly one of tv's most influential executives, mentioned he wished his tenure on the community "had ended in another way."
Aimee Picchi contributed reporting.