Ex-CBS reporter says questioning Fauci got her pulled off the air

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Former CBS News reporter Brittney Hopper says she was temporarily pulled off the air after questioning Dr. Anthony Fauci’s COVID-era guidance, claiming newsroom leadership discouraged skepticism of the nation’s top pandemic adviser.
Hopper’s allegations surfaced just one day after Fauci repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment during a contentious Senate hearing, where Sen. Rand Paul announced plans for a committee vote next week on whether to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress.
The comments reignite questions not only about Fauci’s pandemic decisions but also about whether major news organizations adequately challenged public health officials during COVID instead of amplifying official messaging.

EX-CBS REPORTER SAYS QUESTIONING FAUCI GOT HER PULLED OFF THE AIR

As the political fallout from Dr. Anthony Fauci’s Senate testimony continues, a former CBS News journalist is making allegations that are likely to intensify the debate over how the media handled the COVID-19 pandemic. Independent journalist Brittney Hopper, who previously worked for CBS Los Angeles before leaving in 2022, says she was taken off the air after she began questioning Fauci’s pandemic guidance while covering COVID.

Speaking to Australia’s News24 following Wednesday’s Senate hearing, Hopper recalled growing increasingly skeptical as lockdowns dragged on. “I have so much to say because this was during the time when I was on CBS News. I was reporting extensively on COVID. I was out there on the front lines,” Hopper said. “I remember after a couple of years of dealing with hearing this man and interviewing this man, and having to wear masks and having our kids out of school for years, I remember questioning what he was doing. And I got in trouble and pulled off air for a couple of days because I started questioning him.“

Hopper said she eventually returned to work after apologizing. “I apologized and I went back on air covering what I was supposed to do,” she said. “As I’ve mentioned before on here, I was their puppet on mainstream media for so many years.“

She also expressed hope that the public—and the press—would reexamine how pandemic coverage unfolded. “I hope that this is somewhat of a wake-up call for news organizations around the world,” Hopper said.

Referring to some of the most controversial COVID recommendations, she continued: “The six feet apart thing that he made up, wearing masks outside with not a single soul around us… there were so many questions that were left unanswered.”

Hopper acknowledged that uncertainty existed during the early months of the pandemic but argued journalists became too willing to accept government guidance without challenging it. “News agencies jumped on the bandwagon with him and just feared so many Americans,” she said.

Then she turned to Fauci’s performance before Congress. “He couldn’t even answer what the color of his tie was. He said, ‘I’m going to plead the Fifth.'”

Her comments came less than 24 hours after Fauci appeared before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee under subpoena from Chairman Rand Paul (R-Ky.). During the hearing, Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination more than 100 times, declining to answer questions about the pandemic response, federal funding of virus research and other issues under investigation.

Paul announced at the close of the hearing that the committee will vote next week on whether to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress. Paul argues that Fauci’s sweeping refusal to answer questions—despite having received a broad presidential pardon from former President Joe Biden—may not be legally justified, particularly after Fauci delivered an opening statement before invoking the Fifth. Legal scholars remain divided over that question.

I’ve scheduled a vote next week for the HSGAC committee to vote on a resolution to certify contempt for Dr. Anthony Fauci. pic.twitter.com/XmRZKpvBTz

— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) July 29, 2026

The hearing itself featured several dramatic moments, including Chairman Paul ordering Fauci’s attorney removed after repeated interruptions from the audience.

CBS News has not publicly responded to Hopper’s latest allegations. Hopper did not identify the specific managers involved or provide documentation regarding the disciplinary action she described.

Her account nevertheless adds another chapter to the broader post-pandemic reassessment of media coverage. Over the past several years, major news organizations have revisited reporting on school closures, masking recommendations, the six-foot distancing guideline and the possibility of a laboratory-related origin for COVID-19—topics that were often treated differently during the height of the pandemic than they are today.