Outgoing “CBS Evening News” anchor Scott Pelley and CBS News president David Rhodes have had a hostile relationship since Pelley’s last round of contract negotiations in 2014, we’re told.
Multiple sources say that Pelley’s power agent Ari Emanuel had a “s—tty meeting” with Rhodes during the talks (but didn’t throw Rhodes out of his office, as TV legend has it).
“Rhodes has always treated Pelley badly, and it never sat well with Ari,” said an insider.
Pelley reportedly hired Emanuel to use his famously aggressive negotiating tactics to crank up Pelley’s then-$5 million-a-year deal.
As Page Six first reported, Pelley is leaving his anchor’s chair for a full-time gig at “60 Minutes.”
On May 30, the veteran broadcaster — who was away on assignment in Syria — ordered assistants to clear out his office after clashing with Rhodes.
At the time a CBS source said, “Scott is really angry. He had a huge fight with David Rhodes and decided, ‘Right, I am going to clean out my office. I am done.’”