Why CBS Banned Katie Couric From Promoting Her Tell-All Book

According to Page Six, author Katie Couric has been banned from promoting her new book, "Going There," on CBS. She was scheduled to discuss the revelatory memoir with legendary host Gayle King, but once producers actually read "Going There," they cancelled Couric's appearance outright. Among other shocking allegations, Couric reportedly takes aim at both the network in general and its former boss, Les Moonves. Couric hosted "Evening News" from 2006 to 2011 and, although her run wasn't considered entirely successful, there didn't appear to be any bad blood between her former employers and the anchor (the television star also takes shots at NBC in her book). 

According to Couric, when "Evening News" ratings began to suffer, Moonves attempted to move her to the morning slot. But she refused, arguing, "I didn't leave the morning show I helped make number one so I could go to the third-place morning show." The author added, "I'd rather leave the network than retreat to the morning show, which at the time was a cheap imitation of the other two." Former network head Moonves was fired in 2018, without severance, following widespread accusations of sexual misconduct. However, despite frequently tussling with him, Couric also reasons in her book that Moonves wasn't that bad, "even though he was a close-talker with bad breath." 

As for why she was dumped from promoting her book with King, a television insider insisted, "The segment was never [officially] booked, it was only in discussion."