She’s “addicted to the limelight,” in the words of Jay-Z.
Lesley Stahl would “never quit” CBS News’ “60 Minutes” — despite a report that the star correspondent mulled leaving the show after a flap with the network’s Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss, sources told The Post on Tuesday.
Weiss and her deputy Charles Forelle became “very, very hands on” editing Stah’s segment examining Israeli settlers in the West Bank, prompting Stahl to privately consider quitting the show, the Status newsletter reported Monday night.
Status reported that Forelle suggested tabling the segment, but Stahl strongly objected and got her way with the piece, which aired Sunday.
CBS News called Status’ report “ludicrous,” adding that Stahl’s West Bank segment went through a “rigorous editorial process.”
Sources who know Stahl told The Post that the 84-year-old journalist “would never quit” the show.
“She’s not going anywhere,” said one CBS insider, who said that Stahl is “addicted” to being on the newsmagazine.
The person explained that Stahl — like most other TV anchors — craves the spotlight.
“It’s her life,” the source said. “What’s she going to do, give lectures like [former correspondents] Scott Pelley and Sharyn Alfonsi?”
The source was referring to a Columbia Journalism School lecture series by Stahl’s former colleagues, who are now journalists in residence there — noting that the duo have become “irrelevant.”
Another source noted that Stahl previously signed a two-year deal with CBS News to remain at the show after Weiss cleaned house, firing Pelley, Alfonsi, Cecilia Vega, executive producer Tanya Simon and three other senior producers.
The firings came as correspondents griped that Weiss had injected “bias” into their reports — which CBS News strongly denied.
The episode was an inflection point for Stahl and the remaining veteran “60 Minutes” correspondents, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim, who agonized over whether to stay at the network or leave in protest.
The trio re-upped their contracts and David Ellison, the owner of CBS News parent Skydance, called Stahl personally, promising to respect the editorial independence of “60 Minutes.”
“If she didn’t leave then, she ain’t gonna leave now,” one insider told The Post.
Regardless of whether Stahl privately sounded off potentially quitting, her dustup with Weiss, a self-described “Zionist fanatic” — appeared to reveal a shift in the power dynamic at CBS News, sources opined.
“Bari is caught between in a rock and a hard place, and Lesley knows that,” one insider said, pointing to Weiss’ row last year with Alfonsi over a story about President Trump’s controversial deportation of illegal immigrants to the high-security El Salvadorian prison CECOT.
Weiss shelved that segment in December, arguing it lacked a substantial response from the Trump administration, and Alfonsi pushed back — later accusing the editor of making a “political” decision rather than an editorial one.
The piece eventually ran a month later, with few changes. The network did not renew Alfonsi’s contract in the aftermath.
Sources noted that in Stahl’s case, Weiss opted not to hold the West Bank piece. They speculated that the editor didn’t want more bad press or headaches for her boss, Ellison, whose company just acquired Warner Bros. Discovery.
Weiss was once positioned to run CNN post-merger, but Ellison opted to retain CNN boss Mark Thompson.
As previously reported, the decision appeared to call Weiss’ future at Skydance into question, with some speculating that she may eventually move to a different role than CBS news boss once the networks are consolidated.
Others have suggested she would remain in her current role, but it is not clear how she would work with Thompson.
“I assume she got the message that she needs to tone things down,” said a former CBS exec. “I don’t believe Ellison wants to be dragged deeper into every little upset at the network.”
The Post sought comment from Stahl and CBS News.
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