A former CNN staffer who worked with Anderson Cooper for 12 years has died suddenly.
Cooper announced on air in an emotional tribute that his ex-assistant, Joey Pintauro, suddenly died this week.
During the tribute, Cooper said that Pintauro was a “good friend,” and that he, and many others at CNN will deeply miss him.
“He is a force of nature… you’re lucky in this business, or any business frankly, to have a colleague who works so tirelessly on your behalf,” Cooper said of Pintauro in 2019 when he left the show.
His cause of death is currently unknown.
This tragic announcement comes only three days after Alice Stewart, a political commentator on CNN, and ex-advisor for Ted Cruz, was found dead outside of her home in Virginia.
Stewart’s cause of death has also not been determined, however, officials at the scene believe she may have died from a medical emergency, CNN reported.
“I just can’t believe that she’s gone,” fellow commentator Maria Cardona said on CNN Newsroom.
She and Stewart co-hosted the podcast, Hot Mics From Left to Right, together, and the pair was supposed to record a new episode this upcoming Saturday.
“As you know, today’s politics can be indecent and so dirty,” said Cardona, “but Alice was just such a loving, shining light.”
