What We Know About CNN Anchor Erin Burnett

Erin Burnett, who is arguably one of America's most famous and richest news anchors, has called CNN home since 2011. Her hit show, "Erin Burnett OutFront," has become many Americans' go-to for their evening news, but Burnett actually never thought that this would be her full-time career. She once sent a fan letter to CNN's Willow Bay, who took such a liking to the then-up-and-comer that she asked an unsuspecting Burnett to be her assistant. The future news anchor went on to work for both Bloomberg and CNBC, after which she returned to CNN, where Burnett has happily been ever since.

Evidently, she has an exciting job but it can also be quite a stressful one — when you're in front of the cameras, your mistakes are forever ingrained in people's minds, and Burnett found herself in a bit of an awkward situation in 2024 when she covered a segment discussing Donald Trump's reaction to hearing how much money he had to pay for the funeral of slain Mexican soldier Vanessa Guillén. The former president offered to pay for Guillén's funeral after she was murdered by one of her fellow soldiers during his tenure. But when aides told him the costs amounted to $60,000, Trump lost his cool.

In fact, he allegedly, and rather furiously, responded, "It doesn't cost 60,000 bucks to bury a f******g Mexican!" Burnett read this quote directly from The Atlantic, failing to omit the profanity in the process. She instantly apologized, quickly adding, "Excuse my language there, I just read it. But that's what he said, so," (via Mediaite). Obviously, viewers noticed, and they took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share their thoughts. "Wow. @ErinBurnett isn't pulling punches tonight," one user wrote. Others appeared more sympathetic toward Burnett, arguing that these things are bound to happen from time to time.

Being in the public eye every day comes at a cost, and Erin Burnett admitted that, even after over a decade of working at CNN, the social media trolls still sometimes get under her skin. "Anybody who tells you that when people come after them on Twitter, especially en masse, that it doesn't upset them, I find that hard to believe," she told The Cut in 2022. Unlike other celebs who have scolded their fans and adversaries for their nasty comments on social media, Burnett believes engaging with the haters is a waste of time and energy because it won't ever leave you feeling like you accomplished anything meaningful. 

With that being said, not taking online hate personally is something that's still very hard to do, with the news anchor acknowledging, "I don't pretend that things don't upset me." On the few occasions the CNN star has responded to negative social media commentary, it was to set people's minds at ease such as in 2017, when loyal viewers noticed that Burnett appeared to have a swollen, painful-looking shiner on her right eye. 

She tried to hide it by looking down and turning sideways as she spoke to her guests, but eagle-eyed viewers immediately spotted that something was amiss and rushed over to X, speculating about whether the news anchor had been in a physical fight. Burnett eventually addressed the rumors by writing, "Thanks so much everyone. I have a bad cold and literally minutes before the show my eye obviously was affected. Sorry all!"

Emily Burnett sees the world differently now than she did when she first started working at CNN, primarily because her perspective shifted when the news anchor became a mother. "It gives you a sense of the impermanence of life," she explained to The Cut. "You realize that at its best, you're passing things off to another generation, and at its most fearful, sometimes, as a parent, you're worried about them and you wanna keep them safe." Moreover, when she spoke to The Wrap in 2015, Burnett opened up about how she balances taking care of her three children with her demanding work schedule. 

Her secret to success involves including them in her work, with her eldest son often listening to radio reports and interviews with her first thing in the morning. "I figure there's a positive, it will be good for him over time as opposed to listening to Barney in the morning," Burnett quipped. However, the CNN stalwart confessed to The Cut that she needs to work on squeezing in some self-care during her busy work weeks, disclosing, "Sleep is the thing that I know I need to work at. My sleep issue is not a badge of honor. I need more sleep, and I think that's the single biggest life improvement I could do."