60 Minutes star Lesley Stahl reveals intimate detail of her life that she HATES people talking about

Longtime 60 Minutes correspondent Lesley Stahl took a playful swipe at the media Monday night for repeatedly homing in on her age, even likening it to her middle name.

Stahl, 84, made the remarks while hosting Literacy Partners' 2026 Evening of Readings & Gala Dinner in Manhattan, an annual event celebrating the importance of adult and family literacy.

The black-tie soiree also saw the veteran journalist present a Lifetime Achievement Award to bestselling crime author Patricia Cornwell in honor of her career in contemporary crime fiction.

Stahl's appearance came hours after she and her fellow correspondents received assurances from Paramount that 60 Minutes would remain editorially independent amid ongoing turmoil at the long-running newsmagazine.

Scott Pelley, the second-longest-serving veteran at the program after Stahl, was fired last week following a tense June 1 meeting with several 60 Minutes executives.

The gathering was intended to introduce staff to the show's new executive, filmmaker Nick Bilton, but quickly became contentious as Pelley peppered the newcomer with questions about his qualifications and loyalty to CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss.

Weiss was hired by then-new Paramount CEO David Ellison in October. Pelley also took issue with several firings that had taken place the previous week.

Stahl touched on the uncertainty surrounding the program during her speech, while also offering a humorous nod to the show's aging fanbase.

'I'll bet that most of you grew up watching 60 Minutes with your parents. Well, much has been written about who watches us today,' Stahl said at the fete, setting up the joke.

'And this pains me to report that apparently it's 60- and 70-year-olds,' she said after a pause.

'With their parents.'

The punchline was met with uproarious applause.

Stahl went on, 'Actually, kids do still watch with all that's been going on - our ratings went up 9 percentage points last year.

'Maybe it's because we've been in the news lately, and specifically me in the news,' Stahl said before offering the audience another quip.

'Now here's what gets me, every time my name is in the paper, they put my age right next to my name,' she added. 'Every time. It's like it's my middle name. Lesley Stahl, 84.'

A round of cheers followed.

'But here's what I have to tell you about that: 84 is 29 Celsius, and don't forget that,' she quipped.

The joke was also well received, with Stahl drawing laughs in the grand room at the Chelsea Piers in NYC throughout her remarks.

Later in the evening, she presented Cornwell with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

'Without Lesley Stahl, 60 Minutes would be 60 Seconds,' Cornwell said while accepting.

The event also honored Sherrie Westin, President and CEO of Sesame Workshop, who received the Champion of Literacy Award.

Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, the Literacy Partners gala raised more than $1.3 million to support programs aimed at strengthening families and creating brighter futures through literacy and education.

During the evening, Stahl reflected on the gala's four-decade legacy and underscored the importance of continuing to champion reading, learning and educational opportunities for families and communities.

The gala is held annually to celebrate the importance of adult and family literacy.

Stahl, a CBS News staffer since 1971, hosted the event three days after announcing her intention to remain with 60 Minutes despite concerns voiced by Pelley and several former correspondents earlier in the week.

'We have been grieving because this whole mess has wounded and damaged the broadcast,' Stahl wrote in an internal memo alongside fellow correspondents Bill Whitaker, 74, and Jon Wertheim, 55.

'We want to stay and fight, try to repair and preserve our reputation,' the trio said.

'We're still deeply upset by the firings of Tanya [Simon] and Draggan [Mihailovich], strong leaders who everyone respected,' they wrote of the program's former top producers.

The correspondents also complained that they never received an 'explanation' as to why fellow correspondents Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi were let go on May 28, a day Pelley repeatedly referred to as 'Black Thursday' during his meeting with Bilton.

Alfonsi has blamed CBS's decision not to renew her 60 Minutes contract on a clash she had with network executives in December over a decision to hold one of her segments critical of the Trump administration.

Pelley defended Alfonsi, Simon, Vega and Mihailovich during the meeting, a transcript of which was later leaked to the press.

Pelley, 68, was fired the following day for 'misconduct' and 'antipathy to the future of the show,' Bilton said in a statement.

In a filmed interview with The New York Times that streamed Sunday, Pelley claimed CBS News 'is on fire' and blamed figures including Bilton and Weiss.

He pointed to what he described as bias and pressure to put 'a thumb on the scale for one political party over another.'

Anderson Cooper, another longtime correspondent, left the program in April ahead of his contract's expiration. The move was at least partly due to the show's recent direction under Weiss, Status reported at the time.

Vega told The New York Times she was fired because she refused to tailor her stories to be politically biased.

She, Cooper and Alfonsi were all part of a group of 60 Minutes correspondents who demanded that CBS name the show's next executive producer following longtime leader Bill Owens's departure in April last year.

Owens publicly accused Paramount, CBS's parent company, of interfering with the show's journalistic integrity at the time.

Simon, the daughter of legendary 60 Minutes correspondent Bob Simon, was subsequently appointed to the role on an interim basis in July.

Following Paramount's merger with Skydance, Ellison articulated a vision of CBS News reaching more viewers across the country while accelerating its move into the digital age.

The network has since undergone a significant overhaul, with 60 Minutes becoming a particular focus.

Bilton's hiring late last month was presented as being in line with that vision, given his background in technology and topics such as artificial intelligence.

Like Weiss, Bilton has been viewed by some critics as an outsider because of his lack of traditional broadcast experience.

Sources recently told CNN that during her first six months as news chief, Weiss viewed 60 Minutes as 'calcified and resistant to change.'

During a meeting last month, Pelley accused Weiss 'of murdering' the program. 

The Daily Mail has approached CBS and Paramount for comment.