Cecilia Vega blasted CBS after she was among the 60 Minutes staffers fired on Thursday, calling out the network for what she called “censorship, both imposed and self-driven.”

Like her colleague Sharyn Alfonsi, who also was fired, Vega cited interference from higher-ups that jeopardized the show’s independence.

But unlike Alfonsi, whose contract had expired, Vega said that hers ran through next March. She was terminated anyway.

In a statement, Vega said that she has “the utmost respect and admiration for my colleagues at 60 Minutes and the stories that air every Sunday. But I very much fear what comes next for and the future of the legendary broadcast.”

“In recent months, my producing teams and I have experienced efforts to insert political bias into our stories. Reporting teams have held back on submitting story pitches about important news topics out of fear of the internal repercussions.

“Let’s call this what it is: censorship, both imposed and self-driven. It is dangerous for the show and dangerous for democracy.”

Vega said she “held the line and refused to incorporate suggestions that offend the conscience, a phrase I borrow from a colleague who has also fought to keep questionable editorial suggestions away from the facts. I know from many conversations with colleagues that many producing teams and correspondents working on the show today have had to fight to maintain editorial independence with regularity.”

“I am far from the only 60 Minutes correspondent who has asked herself, ‘What is my personal red line? How much can I push back before I pay the price?'”

A CBS News spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.

The network also ousted the executive producer of the show, Tanya Simon, and replaced her with Nick Bilton, a journalist and documentary filmmaker who has worked at the New York Times and as a contributor to Vanity Fair.

Vega joined the show in 2023 from ABC News, where she had been chief White House correspondent.

Vega’s complete statement is below.

I was fired today. My contract as a correspondent for 60 Minutes was not set to expire until March 2027.
I have the utmost respect and admiration for my colleagues at 60 Minutes and the stories that air every Sunday. But I very much fear what comes next for and the future of the legendary broadcast.

In recent months, my producing teams and I have experienced efforts to insert political bias into our stories. Reporting teams have held back on submitting story pitches about important news topics out of fear of the internal repercussions.

Let’s call this what it is: censorship, both imposed and self-driven. It is dangerous for the show and dangerous for democracy.

I held the line and refused to incorporate suggestions that offend the conscience, a phrase I borrow from a colleague who has also fought to keep questionable editorial suggestions away from the facts. I know from many conversations with colleagues that many producing teams and correspondents working on the show today have had to fight to maintain editorial independence with regularity. I am far from the only 60 Minutes correspondent who has asked herself, “What is my personal red line? How much can I push back before I pay the price?”

I am proud of the work I did for 60 Minutes. This season alone I was part of teams that won two of the highest honors in our profession — a George Polk award and a duPont-Columbia award for our coverage of Venezuelan migrants sent by the Trump administration to El Salvador’s Cecot prison. And not for nothing, I climbed to Mount Everest.

I also walk away with an honor no one can take from me: I was the first Latina correspondent to ever be on 60 Minutes.

Today I lost an amazing job. But I still have my integrity. 

To my former colleagues, continue to hold the line.