Jimmy Fallon’s prediction about the future of CBS on Wednesday drew laughs from his audience, but it may not be as far-fetched as viewers expect.
The Tonight Show host addressed MAGA-friendly CBS News head Bari Weiss’s overhaul of 60 Minutes, which culminated this week with the shock firing of Scott Pelley, a 23-year veteran of the program and nearly 40-year veteran of CBS News.
“CBS just fired longtime 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley after he criticized his new bosses at the network,” Fallon said in his monologue, as the crowd booed the update.
“Yeah, the story gets more bizarre because today, CBS announced they were replacing Scott Pelley with Byron Allen,” he joked. Byron Allen, the billionaire comedian who bought the timeslot that replaced Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show on CBS, attracted only 15 percent of Colbert’s viewership when he aired his shows in Colbert’s place.
Pelley was fired the day after he said Weiss, who was installed following CBS’s acquisition by billionaire Trump buddy David Ellison, was “murdering 60 Minutes,” according to the Guardian. “She does not love this place. She was brought in to kill it and is doing exactly that,” he also said.
“CBS is getting more and more conservative to appease President Trump,” Fallon continued, “Don’t be totally shocked when they replace 60 Minutes with the “Kid Rock-MyPillow Guy News Hour.”
Trump’s ally, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, who’s running for governor of Minnesota, has become a favorite talking head for the right. Kid Rock remains MAGA’s go-to performer, headlining Turning Point USA’s Super Bowl alternative halftime show in February.
Fallon joked that there are only a handful of known faces one can expect to see hosting a Trump-friendly program, like the one critics say Weiss is trying to turn 60 Minutes into.
“In the last few months, 60 Minutes has lost multiple producers and correspondents. You could tell that they got rid of a lot of people because the show is now called 60 Seconds,” he said, showing an altered version of the show’s title card. “It’s a TikTok,” he quipped. “And in response to Pelley’s firing, Trump called him a ‘stiff,’” Fallon added, as the crowd went “ooh.”
“Yeah, he’s not like all those other free-wheelin’ rockstar 60 Minutes correspondents we’re used to,” Fallon concluded sarcastically.
