The truth behind Christiane Amanpour’s exit as CNN execs begged her to stay

Christiane Amanpour attends George and Amal Clooney's annual fundraiser 'The Albie Awards' in London, Britain, October 9, 2026. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes

Legendary host and reporter Christiane Amanpour announced she was leaving CNN on Monday, not long after David and Larry Ellison made their ownership official.

The Ellisons' purchase of CBS in Aug. 2025 ushered in the network's lack of independence on the news side, insiders have said over the past year. Less than 24 hours before Amanpour's announcement, Semafor reported that editor-in-chief Bari Weiss had CBS News reporters chasing conspiracy theories that Texas Democrat James Talarico was in a mental health facility in Ohio, among others.

What has happened at CBS News over the past year appears to have helped with Amanpour's decision to leave.

According to Oliver Darcy's "Status," Amanpour convened a meeting on Monday morning with her team and by 11 a.m., CNN chief Mark Thompson was sending a memo to the full network announcing she was leaving.

"After more than 43 years at CNN, Christiane has decided that the time is right to begin a new chapter," Thompson wrote. "Early in 2027, she will scale back her CNN International show, Amanpour, to once a week. The program will conclude in May, and she will leave CNN at the end of June."

Darcy explained that many CNN contracts expire in 2027, but Amanpour's public exit as the first doesn't bode well for the network's future.

The Daily Beast said that Thompson "personally begged" the reporter not to leave. Meanwhile, he also launched "a quiet, unsuccessful campaign to stop their premier international anchor from walking out the door." However, she had her own concerns about the news network under the new owners.

Darcy also learned that the journalist's health somewhat influenced her decision. The two-time cancer survivor revealed that her ovarian cancer returned for the third time, though she assured it was "being very well managed." But Amanpour decided it was time to move on anyway.

Thompson confessed in his message that he'd been trying to persuade her to stay for months, to no avail.

“Christiane has thought carefully about this decision, and she and I have been discussing it for some months,” Thompson wrote.

She, like many, is concerned that the Ellisons' acquisition of the network could shift the news networks away from fact-based reporting and more toward support for President Donald Trump and other Republicans.

When reporters told him on October 6, 2026, that the Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery merger had closed, Trump cheered, “I’m happy about that. That’s great. It’s gonna be a great company. They’re terrific people, and it’s gonna be a great company.”

“That’s a great merger. I’m glad they let it go," he added.

Trump has long opposed CNN, claiming that the network is spreading “poison and lies." The network is one of three that Trump has attempted to remove from the White House. In fact, this year marked the second attempt Trump made to remove CNN, the first being with reporter Jim Acosta during his first term.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth similarly cheered, “The sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better.”

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