CNN’s Christiane Amanpour is leaving the cable network after more than four decades as one of its most recognizable faces, she said Monday.
The announcement, which sent shockwaves through the chattering classes, came weeks after Paramount Skydance finalized its purchase of CNN’s parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, sparking anxiety in the newsroom.
Amanpour, known for interviewing heads of state and reporting from conflict zones, made no mention of the drama in a departure note, in which she said she’d stick around until next June.
“After many months of thought and a few sleepless nights, I have decided to separate from CNN, my partner of 43 fantastic years!” she said in a statement.
The 68-year-old journo added that she “looks forward to interesting new projects down the line, and will always be rooting for CNN and maintaining its history of independent journalism. Remember: always be truthful, not neutral.”
Media sources speculated that Amanpour was leaving due to philosophical differences with CNN’s new owner, Skydance CEO David Ellison.
She recently voiced “concern” over his purchase of WBD, pointing to CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss’ efforts to shake up the network since Ellison installed her in the role with a mandate to bring greater balance last year.
“Clearly I’m concerned, and I’m not sure how much I’m allowed to say about the corporate thing that’s underway, but I am obviously as a person, as a journalist with a record concerned,” Amanpour said in May.
“I’m concerned based on what’s happened to the other things that he’s taken over already, like CBS News, right?” Amanpour added.
“I mean, do I have to list what’s happening there? I mean, hemorrhaging viewers, probably hemorrhaging money, this ideological realignment of CBS and the destruction potentially of ‘60 Minutes.’”
Insiders pointed to Ellison’s pro-Israel stance as another reason why Amanpour may be leaving, citing criticism of her own alleged anti-Israel bias from media watchdogs and Jewish organizations.
Amanpour drew heavy backlash over her coverage of the release of surviving Israeli hostages when she said on air in October that the victims were “probably being treated better than the average Gazan, because they are the pawns and the chips that Hamas had.”
She later apologized for the remark on air, calling it “insensitive and wrong” in light of reports of Hamas’ starvation, beating and brutal captivity of Israeli hostages.
Some media sources speculated that basic finances explain Amanpour’s exit, noting Skydance has billions of dollars in debt from the merger. Ellison and co-CEO Ynon Kriez are in the process of mapping out cost-cutting efficiencies.
Amanpour’s annual salary is believed to be in the millions.
Others pointed to Amanpour’s health as a possible reason for her exit. In January 2025, the journalist scaled back to hosting a few days a week as she revealed that her ovarian cancer had returned a third time. Amanpour was initially diagnosed in May 2021.
CNN chairman Mark Thompson shared Amanpour’s decision in a memo to colleagues Monday morning.
“Christiane has thought carefully about this decision, and she and I have been discussing it for some months,” Thompson wrote. “Like so many CNNers who will hear the news today, I’m very sorry to see her go, but I’ve come to accept that this is the right time for her, both personally and professionally.”
Thompson described Amanpour as “one of the most trusted and beloved journalists anywhere” and said the network will take time to celebrate her “before she departs next year.”
During her tenure, Amanpour became a household name for her reporting as a foreign correspondent covering conflicts in Bosnia, Rwanda, Ukraine, Iran and Afghanistan. She also hosted a nightly interview show bearing her name on CNN International since 2009.