Anderson Cooperrecently opened up about his decision to leave60 Minutes, which he has been part of for over two decades. He originally announced his exit in February without citing a specific reason.
The departure comes afterBari Weisstook on the role of editor-in-chief at CBS News. Alongside his work on CBS’s 60 Minutes, Cooper has been juggling full-time responsibilities at CNN, where he hostsAnderson Cooper 360°.
Here’s why Anderson Cooper is exiting 60 Minutes
During Sunday’s pre-recorded 60 Minutes Overtime, Cooper revealed the reason behind his departure. He said he is stepping away to focus on his family, as he hadn’t been able to spend much time with them due to his demanding professional schedule.
He said the realization struck him after a colleague spoke about the growing distance between him and his children. Cooper elaborated, “I almost started to cry when he told me that because I’m in South Africa, and my kid is going to school that day, and I’m not there.”
“I’ve got a 4-year-old and a just now 6-year-old, and I want to spend as much time with them as I can while they still want to spend time with me. And those days, that clock is ticking, I think,” he said while referring to his two kids, Wyatt Morgan and Sebastian Luke. He then reflected on juggling both roles, saying that balancing the two had been demanding. He also noted that producing a strong 60 Minutes piece was equally challenging.
Sharing how he had been dedicating his weekends to work for CBS, he explained, “CNN doesn’t like it if I take a lot of time off to work on a 60 Minutes piece, so I’ve worked mostly for 60 Minutes on weekends. My vacation time at CNN has been working on 60 Minutes pieces. And I’ve loved it, but it’s been tough,” he said (viaEntertainment Weekly).
His final appearance aired on Sunday, May 17.
