Katie Couric Skewers Bari Weiss for ‘Really Grotesque’ Approach to Netanyahu Interview

Katie Couric went off on CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss for what she called her “really grotesque” handling of a recent 60 Minutes interview with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The former CBS Evening News anchor was talking to Status founder Oliver Darcy on her YouTube show on Thursday about how Weiss has run CBS since taking over last year, and Darcy brought up how Weiss “basically gave” Netanyahu a choice between correspondents Lesley Stahl and Major Garrett on who would interview him last month; Garrett ended up getting the interview.

“That is unusual. You do not necessarily see this sort of like pick-your-own-interviewer [option],” Darcy said.

“That is not only unusual,” Couric jumped in to add, “I mean, it’s really grotesque.”

She then said she ran into the same issue when she was on NBC’s Today show; Couric said ex-President George W. Bush was angry with her and opted to do an interview with her co-host Matt Lauer instead.

Couric went on, saying it was “really inappropriate” for Weiss and other news execs to let interviewees pick their interviewers.

“When you give that kind of power and control to the subject of a story and they get to pick and choose who they think is going to be better to them and less critical during an interview — that should not be the decision of the news maker,” she said. “That should be the decision of the news organization.”

Couric had some harsh words for Weiss at other points in the show as well. She said Weiss and new 60 Minutes executive producer Nick Bilton were handling the show in a “profoundly stupid” way. She added the pair have shown “disregard and disrespect” for the show’s legacy in how they handled recent firings.

Her comments come a few days after now-fired correspodent Scott Pelley went on a searing diatribe against Weiss and Bilton in front of his colleagues. Pelley accused Weiss of “murdering” the show. He was then fired for cause by Bilton.

Watch the clip above.

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