CNN President Jeff Zucker made a joke about sleeping with one of his employees while accepting an award for excellence in journalism.
"I was gonna say that I love waking up with you every morning, but I want to say that I love waking up to you every morning," he said to emcee Alisyn Camerota, host of CNN’s “New Day,” while being honored at the Mirror Awards for leadership.
Jeff Zucker on CNN morning anchor Alisyn Camerota, who MC'd the awards show: "I was gonna say that I love waking up WITH YOU every morning, but I want to say that I love waking up TO YOU every morning." (there were some groans in the room)
— Jeremy Barr (@jeremymbarr) June 13, 2019
While accepting a lifetime achievement speech at the Mirror Awards, Jeff Zucker made a joke about sleeping with one of his CNN hosts. All that after Ronan Farrow won an award and gave a speech about holding those in the media accountable. Bizarre look.
— Ryan Mac (@RMac18) June 13, 2019
Camerota dismissed the remark as the "oldest joke in the book."
"It’s the oldest joke in the book made to morning show anchors, both men and women,” Camerota told The Daily Beast. "I hear it a couple of times a week from people in the grocery store. That isn’t harassment, in my opinion, and I didn’t find it tone deaf, either.”
Zucker's joke came after New Yorker journalist Ronan Farrow accepted an award for his investigative reporting on former CBS head Les Moonves's history of alleged sexual misconduct.
