A CNN host shocked viewers when she abruptly quit on live television on Monday morning.
CNN Host Quits On Live TV
Rahel Solomon, host of Early Start, opened her usual 5am broadcast by saying that she had some “personal news” to share.
“I have decided that this will be my last week at CNN,” said Solomon, 37. “More to come on what’s next for me, but I’m really excited about this next chapter.”
“Thank you to the team at Early Start,” she continued. “To the larger team here at CNN – I’m going to be cheering you on. I look forward to watching.”
Solomon went on to say that her last show will air on Friday. She did not offer any further details as to what her future plans may be.
“So this is truly not goodbye, but see you soon,” she concluded.
Solomon had only just recently returned to CNN from maternity leave in December. Prior to that, she had been tapped to host Early Start in March of last year.
Check out Solomon’s full comments pertaining to her live on-air resignation in the video below.
Solomon’s History
Solomon was born in Sudan to Ethiopian parents. She moved to the United States at the age of 3, and her family settled in West Philadelphia.
Solomon later graduated from St. John’s University, earning a bachelor’s degree in finance. She then earned a master’s degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
“I studied finance in college and almost went into banking but realized my last semester — banking wasn’t the best fit,” Solomon previously told People Magazine. “The fact that I graduated not long after the Great Recession and jobs were hard to come by also encouraged me to think differently about next steps.”
When Solomon took a year off between college and graduate school, she decided to merge her passions for both finance and journalism.
“Never saw that coming but maybe I should have?” Solomon confessed. “Now I get to do both things I love and find interesting.”
Solomon began her broadcasting career with Colorado and Philadelphia’s CBS affiliates. She eventually landed a gig at CNBC before joining CNN back in 2022. Solomon then made a name for herself as a business correspondent for CNN International. Indeed, she covered such events as the 2023 U.S. banking crisis and the emergency takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS.
Solomon married the Philadelphia-based lawyer Marcel S. Pratt in July 2024. They welcomed a baby girl the next year, and Solomon spent the next six months on maternity leave.
Some of Solomon’s fellow staffers at CNN told Daily Mail that they are “supportive” of her decision to leave the network.
CNN Suffers Record Low Viewership
This comes as CNN is suffering from a record low viewership both during the day and primetime. CNN’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, is currently in the process of being sold to Paramount for more than $100 billion. This could result in CNN being merged with CBS News. Even President Donald Trump himself has commented on this.
“I don’t think the people that are running that company right now and running CNN – which is a very dishonest group of people – I don’t think that should be allowed to continue,” Trump said back in December. “I think CNN should be sold along with everything.”
While it’s unclear exactly why Solomon has decided to quit CNN so abruptly, she could be the first in a long line of anchors to decide to leave the network during this tumultuous time. It will certainly be interesting to see how this all turns out for CNN!