"There's some moments of the day I feel fine. There's some moments of the day that I just, frankly, fall apart, when I least expect it."
Pelley defended his strong language, arguing it reflected the unprecedented scale of changes at the long-running news institution.
"They don't know what they're doing.
And there's a subtle political bias that I've never seen at 60 Minutes before, or at CBS News before," he said.
He questioned the necessity of the restructuring, pointing to the program's historic success. "We have a broadcast that is among the most important in America.
The most successful in the history of all television. It was doing great, so why are we making these changes?"
Pelley asked.
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Other prominent departures include executive producer Tanya Simon, and correspondents Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi.
