CNN Fires 3 Non-Vaxxed Workers

CNN has reportedly fired three employees for showing up to work without having been vaccinated against COVID-19 in violation of the network's strict policy, with social media users quickly accusing the company of rank hypocrisy.  

The Daily Mail reports NY Times media correspondent Michael Grynbaum first reported on the news after obtaining a copy of an internal memo that was sent on Thursday to employees by CNN President Jeff Zucker.

It is unclear where the trio of dismissed staffers worked. CNN is headquartered in Atlanta and has 16 office locations across seven countries.  

According to the memo, CNN so far has had an 'honor system' in place when it comes to staffers' vaccination statuses and has not made it mandatory to produce a vaccine card.

Jeff Zucker

'In the past week, we have been made aware of three employees who were coming to the office unvaccinated,' Zucker wrote. 'All three have been terminated. Let me be clear -- we have zero-tolerance policy on this.'

Zucker stressed that all CNN employees, including those working in the office and in the field, must be vaccinated.

Critics on Twitter wasted no time pointing out that while CNN was quick to fire workers for being unvaccinated, it has not taken host Chris Cuomo off the air, despite this week's damning report by New York Attorney General Letitia James, which alleged that the presenter advised his brother, New York Gov Andrew Cuomo, on his response to allegations of sexual harassment. 

The CNN prime-time personality testified to investigators looking into his older brother’s behavior. His name appears four times in the 165-page report. 

Cuomo has not addressed the report accusing his brother of sexually harassing 11 women inside and outside New York government in his nightly show.

Other commenters also brought up the fact that CNN in June rehired Jeffrey Toobin as a legal analyst after he was caught masturbating on a Zoom call with former colleagues at The New Yorker.