Kaitlan Collins’ ‘wakeup call’: CNN colleagues’ catty whispers behind her back, as ‘out-of-touch gallivanting’ earns her brutal new nickname

After 30 years of the party’s well-documented debauchery and spectacularly glamorous excess, the new editor of Vanity Fair decided enough was enough.

His magazine would still hold its annual post-Oscars bash, welcoming the great and the good of Hollywood to celebrate or commiserate. But from now on, he decreed, there would be no journalists allowed. 

The move was to make the party more exclusive, insiders claimed, and allow the real A-list to let their hair down without eagle-eyed loiterers looking on. The New York Times, Associated Press and even The Hollywood Reporter were all told that this year they were not welcome.

Which rather begs the question: what was CNN’s Kaitlan Collins doing there? And more to the point, who does she think she is?

The 33-year-old from Alabama, who in 2021 became the youngest chief White House correspondent in CNN’s history, certainly sees herself as a hard-hitting, reliable reporter.

‘When you go on CNN and give a report from the White House, people from all walks of life are listening to you to see what’s going on, and they’re counting on you to know what you’re talking about and to present it fairly,’ she told Forbes in February of that year. ‘I think that the best way to earn the respect of your colleagues – not just within your own team but within the entire White House press corps – is to be well-read on what’s going on and to have good reporting.’

But five years on, as she posed at the Vanity Fair party, her CNN colleagues were asking whether she really was still focused on her reporting. Perhaps, some snarked, Hollywood had turned her head.

‘When you become more well known as a red carpet influencer than a journalist, there’s a problem,’ one seasoned network executive told the Daily Mail, adding that she was becoming seen as ‘out of touch’ and chasing ‘red-carpet notoriety.’

The source noted that Matthew Belloni, author of news website Puck’s influential media gossip column, had decreed Collins the new holder of ‘the Don Lemon crown of CNN-er who most enjoys flying to LA for parties.’

It was not, the source said, a compliment.

Lemon was ousted from CNN in April 2023 amid widespread discontent within the network at his seeming arrogance and starry ways.

‘His tenure at the network was plagued by ill-informed, opinion-laden commentary masquerading as journalism with spouts of drunken debauchery on full display during New Year’s Eve coverage,’ the source said of Lemon.

‘If I were Collins, I’d see this as a wakeup call and focus more on my day job and less on gallivanting around town.’

The signs, perhaps, have been there for a while.

In June 2025, CNN’s parent company, Warner Bros Discovery, announced that it was splitting into two separate companies: one focused on the HBO Max streaming service and Warner Bros studio, and the other comprised of CNN and other television networks.

The news was greeted with trepidation among staff at CNN, after a bruising start to the year: six percent of the workforce, around 200 people, were laid off in January 2025, Axios reported.

Yet at that precise moment, it emerged that Collins had splashed out on a Nantucket beach house, which Page Six reported was ‘very expensive.’ The average home price on the sought-after Massachusetts island was roughly $4.5 million as of May 2025, according to Realtor.com.

‘She just bought some bougie place and CNN people are grossed out that she paid so much,’ one disgruntled colleague told Page Six.

Collins, instead of keeping a low profile, boasted about her new holiday home, describing herself in August 2025 as ‘The Influencer Driving Nantucket Crazy This Summer.’

The following month, Collins was in London, attending a political society wedding at the Palace of Westminster.

Striking in a large yellow hat and polka dot dress, Collins posed with the former UK ambassador to Washington, Dame Karen Pierce, and with the bride, Emily Benn – granddaughter of British political giant Tony Benn. It’s not clear how Collins knew Benn, a Labour party councillor, although Benn did spend time working at a bank in New York and at Harvard.

In the new year, Collins was again mingling with famous faces – this time at the Grammy Awards, held in Los Angeles.

And once again, CNN staffers were left wondering what she was doing there.

‘Seems Collins cares more about the perks of journalism,’ the source said – noting that she will certainly be party hopping again next month amid the White House Correspondents’ Dinner weekend.

Few could begrudge her that – after all, she is a near daily presence in the White House briefing room.

But, the source said, Collins’ penchant for parties was being noticed.

‘The all-about-me journalism is clearly in the DNA at CNN – and Collins is no exception,’ the source said.

‘When in doubt – go out. CNN is clearly in a tailspin so why not enjoy the notoriety while you can.’

Neither CNN nor Collins’ spokesperson at CNN responded to requests for comment.