The veteran journalist was part of CBS’ newsmagazine program from 2004 until his firing on Tuesday.

Rachel Maddow hopes Scott Pelley joins MS Now after 60 Minutes firing

The veteran journalist was part of CBS' newsmagazine program from 2004 until his firing on Tuesday.

By Marina Watts

Marina Watts

Marina Watts is a news writer for with seven years experience covering entertainment, pop culture and celebrity news. Her previous work appears in PEOPLE, Bustle and Newsweek.

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June 3, 2026 1:31 p.m. ET

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Rachel Maddow; Scott Pelley. Credit:

Patrick Randak/MSNBC; Michele Crowe/CBS

- Rachel Maddow is speaking out in support of Scott Pelley after his firing from *60 Minutes*.

- "And I don't know where Scott Pelley will land. Frankly, I hope he lands right here. I hope he's on TV tomorrow," Maddow said on MS Now on Tuesday.

- Pelley joined the newsmagazine program in 2004.

Rachel Maddow is standing behind Scott Pelley after he was fired from *60 Minutes*.

The MS Now broadcast journalist spoke out in support of Pelley after he accused CBS News boss Bari Weiss of "murdering" the newsmagazine program in a staff meeting on Monday, which resulted in his ousting on Tuesday evening. She half-jokingly called Pelley's termination part of a "Hungarian, oligarchic-style takeover of the media."

“There’s nobody who is more acutely attuned to the value of a free press than those who are trying to take it away," Maddow later added, clarifying her comments that she was joking but "also sort of deadly serious."

"When the president baldly says, ‘I am going to use the power of the state in order to get the media that I want,’ and he lines up oligarchic friends in order to do that for him. Again, there's no pretense. There's no saying this is for any other reason."

Rachel Maddow in New York in October 2024.

Craig Barritt/Getty

"There's nothing else going on at CBS News other than what we can see is happening at CBS News. And I don't know where Scott Pelley will land. Frankly, I hope he lands right here. I hope he's on TV tomorrow. I hope that everybody in journalism and everybody who values a free press figures out ways to outmaneuver the people who are trying to take the free press from us," concluded Maddow on MS Now.

* *reached out to a rep for CBS News and did not receive an immediate response.

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Pelley, who had been part of *60 Minutes *since 2004, reportedly said during the heated staff meeting meant to introduce new *60 Minutes* executive producer Nick Bilton that Weiss "is murdering 60 Minutes," per *The New York Times*. "She does not love this place. She was brought in to kill it, and she's been doing exactly that."

The following day, Pelley was out at CBS. "Yesterday you hijacked my first meeting with staff to disparage me, my qualifications and my intentions with remarkable incivility and contempt," Bilton wrote in part to Pelley in a letter viewed by EW.

"Your antipathy to the future of the show has come through loud and clear," he continued. "And I have heard you. I therefore write on behalf of CBS News to inform you that your employment with CBS is terminated effective immediately."

Scott Pelley for '60 Minutes'.

Michele Crowe/CBS News via Getty

After Pelley's firing, he released a statement, lashing out at CBS News bosses. "*60* has been the number-one program in America for decades because our beloved audience finds integrity, quality, and humanity in our stories," Pelley said.

"Last month, *60 Minutes* lost its DNA when our entire senior leadership and two of our best on-air correspondents were cruelly fired without cause. Good people were silenced because they stood up for our audience. They stood for fairness against the forces of political bias; they stood for professionalism against chaos."

"The new owner of our network is casting this legend aside, apparently to curry a moment of favor with the Trump administration," Pelley added in part. "The waste is heartbreaking."

Watch Maddow's full comments on Pelley's *60 Minutes *firing in the video below.

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Source: “EW News”