‘I’m tired y’all’: CBS producer Shawna Thomas leaves network to prioritize rest

“Y’all, this is not a bad thing. I’m going to miss everyone, but I need to go find a beach,” producer Shawna Thomas says of her CBS News exit.

On the heels of Gayle King inking her new contract with CBS, ending months of speculation, “CBS Mornings” producer Shawna Thomas is bowing out. This week, the CBS News executive producer announced that she will be leaving the show in a memo to her colleagues. 

This isn’t THE GREAT GOODBYE NOTE,” Thomas wrote, per The Wrap.  “But you should know I’ve been thinking about this for a while and, frankly, I’m tired y’all.” 

She continued: “Today is not my last day at CBS Mornings, but it begins a countdown to my alarm going off a little bit later […] For five years, I’ve tried to make this show something she and everybody on this team want to be a part of. Want to watch. Want to learn from. And in return, this team has made me more thoughtful, empathetic, and expanded my personal definition of storytelling. I’ve had the privilege of helping to make 10 (now 12!) hours of television each week that goes out free to people everywhere.  I’ve taken that responsibility of trying to inform, educate, entertain, and make people care about the world around them very seriously, and I know the people here do, too.”

Thomas’ departure reflects the wave of changes at CBS News since Bari Weiss’ appointment as Editor-in-Chief, and signals at the larger wave of Black women voluntarily (but most times involuntarily) being pushed out of traditional media. However, for the former CBS producer her upcoming departure is not a bad thing. 

“Y’all this is not a bad thing. I’m going to miss everyone but I need to go find a beach. Stat,” she captioned an Instagram post thanking people for the outpouring of love in light of the news. 

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Just as Thomas is ready to lean into the power of rest, Gabrielle Wyatt, founder of The Highland Project and Meet Me at The Highland—two platforms rooted in the belief that rest is revolutionary —emphasized the power behind the former producer’s decision to step back. 

“There is power in a Black woman saying ‘I’m tired’ and then making a different choice,” Wyatt told theGrio. “For too long we’ve been expected to lead at the speed of urgency, without space to pause or breathe. But rest is not weakness. It is power. Stillness is not the opposite of leadership. It is what sustains it.”

“That belief is the foundation of Meet Me at The Highland Presents: The Legacy Studio, where slowing down is not a luxury. It is the work,” she continued. 

So while Thomas will reportedly be stepping away from the broadcast at the end of this month, she will hopefully be stepping into a season rooted in rest, alignment and some time in the sun.