Anderson Cooper appeared to take a thinly veiled dig at Bari Weiss and the future direction of “60 Minutes” during an emotional farewell Sunday night — offering up a pointed defense of the legendary newsmagazine’s “independence.

He shared that he's leaving the show to spend more time with his kids and revealed that juggling his duties on the show with his full-time job at CNN got to be too "challenging."

Anderson Cooper signed off from 60 Minutes after 20 years on Sunday, paying tribute to the newsmagazine’s legacy, quality and independence. Cooper announced in February that he would be exiting the show,