Katie Couric reveals behind-the-scenes drama at '60 Minutes' that made her 'crazy'
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Video Katie Couric reveals behind-the-scenes drama over Lady Gaga interview at '60 Minutes'
Katie Couric discussed some behind the scenes drama over a Lady Gaga interview profile she suggested doing while she was at "60 Minutes" during an interview on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!Podcast host and journalist Katie Couric discussed some behind-the-scenes drama from her time at CBS on Wednesday during an interview with the "Call Her Daddy" podcast.
Couric told "Call Her Daddy" host Alex Cooper that "60 Minutes" was her dream, and explained a story idea she had pitched about Lady Gaga and said that the producer at "60 Minutes" at the time, Jeff Fager, didn't like her.
"I was sort of seen as somebody from a different network coming in and sort of muddying the waters and I hadn't come up in the CBS system. So I don't know. He just didn't like me and I remember saying to the people who work on '60 Minutes,' I've got this great idea, because I always felt like ‘60 Minutes’ was a little behind on like big cultural moments."
"I said there's this incredible singer and I think she's going to be the next Madonna," Couric continued. "She's so interesting. She went to Catholic school, but she's so outrageous, and she is huge, and she's got a huge number one song. I think we should do a profile of this person, Lady Gaga. And they're like, ‘Mmm.’ And so they, the producer, who now is a good friend of mine, called me and said, 'You know, I talked to Jeff, and he said it's not for us.' And I said, ‘OK.'"
Katie Couric at the American Ballet Theatre's 2026 Spring Gala held at Cipriani 42nd Street on May 20, 2026, in New York. (Stephanie Augello/WWD via Getty Images)
Couric worked as a "60 Minutes" correspondent at CBS, but was also an anchor for "CBS Evening News."
"Fast forward a year, and she calls me and says, ‘Hey, guess what? Jeff wants to do the piece on Lady Gaga.’ And I was like, ‘Okay, well, she's kind of overexposed now. She was on the cover of Rolling Stone,'" she said.
After pitching an updated idea on Lady Gaga, she explained that somebody else had gotten the interview.
"I said, ‘Okay. Well, that's great. Maybe we could do a different angle. Maybe we could talk to the nuns who educated her at Sacred Heart and kind of talk about this juxtaposition of her background and education and this outrageous singer she's become.’ So they said, ‘Great.’ So I was all excited. I went back over, and they had a whiteboard at CBS, and they had the name of the correspondent and the story next to it. And I see Lady Gaga- Anderson Cooper," Couric explained.
She said it made her "crazy."
The former CBS employee said a similar situation happened with an interview with Hillary Clinton while she was secretary of state.
Katie Couric speaks onstage during Gracies Leadership Awards presented by the Alliance for Women in Media on Nov. 18, 2025, in New York City. (Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for Alliance for Women in Media)
"But that happened again with Hillary Clinton. They said Jeff Fager, the executive producer, said, ‘Katie, we want you to do a profile of Hillary Clinton as secretary of state.’ I said, ‘That's awesome. Maybe I could really focus on the work she's doing for women and girls all around the world,'" she said.
She then said the State Department called and expressed confusion because Scott Pelley, a "60 Minutes" correspondent, had been reaching out to the State Department about doing a feature on Clinton.
"So, I go to Jeff Fager and I say, ‘I thought you wanted me to do Hillary. You told me explicitly that you wanted to assign that story to me,’" she said, discussing her interaction with Fager.
Fager told her, according to Couric, that they decided to go into a different direction.
The journalist said she was being "gaslit."
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Katie Couric appears on "Watch What Happens Live" with Andy Cohen. (Charles Sykes/Bravo via Getty Images)
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"Well, that's I think the point, you know, that it was sort of a bald-faced lie. And then it was being done behind my back, like without even the decency to call me and say, ‘Guess what? We've decided to reassign this story and this is why,'" she said. "Instead, I have to find out because the State Department spokesperson tells my producer. So, stuff like that was, you know, talk about getting gaslit. I mean, to me, that is the definition of it."
Fox News Digital reached out to CBS for comment.
Tensions at CBS reached a new high earlier this month after correspondent Scott Pelley was fired following a bitter clash with the network's editor-in-chief Bari Weiss and new "60 Minutes" executive producer Nick Bilton.
Couric said during her online show that she understood why Pelley was let go, and said Weiss had no choice.
"I don't think that Bari Weiss had any choice but to let Scott Pelley go," Couric said earlier this month. "I mean, I think it's a classic definition of insubordination."
Hanna Panreck is an associate editor at Fox News.
Badenoch blasts 'moaning' female Labour MPs over Burnham jobs 'quota'
Kemi Badenoch has told Labour women to earn a job in Andy Burnham's Cabinet instead of demanding they are handed jobs because of their gender.
The Tory leader lashed out today amid reports that female MPs are demanding the de-facto new prime minister introduce a 50:50 gender split 'quota' in his government.
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister also complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts.
But in a scathing article in the Times today Mrs Badenoch told them to 'stop moaning' and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'.
'There are many, many reasons why you shouldn't have any Milibands in the cabinet,' she said.
'But complaining that the boys haven't given them the right jobs or that the boys are taking all the jobs, just shows that Labour's women still don't get it.'
The idea of quotas was also attacked by Baroness Jacqui Smith, Labour's Skills Minister.
Asked by Times Radio if Mr Burnham should reserve jobs for women, she said: 'No, I think what Andy Burnham should be doing is building the very best team around him to change this country.'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband (above, right, in 2010) is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts
But Mrs Badenoch told them to pipe down and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party and seen by the BBC has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs after he succeeds Sir Keir Starmer.
'We are asking you to demonstrate this change from day one and address the toxicity and misogyny within our own party and government,' it said.
Labour has never had a female leader, while the Conservatives have had three, and Mrs Badenoch urged the government to follow its meritocratic example.
'If you run a meritocracy, then you do not have to worry about jobs for the boys,' she wrote.
'Every woman who is a Conservative MP, every woman who has ever won the leadership, has had to fight to get where she is.
'By contrast, Labour women are demanding guarantees from Burnham. But the truth is he doesn't have to give any guarantees.
'If none of Labour's women are prepared to get their hands dirty and challenge him for the leadership, their demands are toothless.'
'In fact, it's quite revealing that the women's parliamentary Labour Party has written to Burnham asking him to commit himself to at least 50 per cent female ministers.
'This has nothing to do with meritocracy. It is yet more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country.'
