The Paramount comics, Colbert and Stewart, are sharp critics of the '60 Minutes' deal

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

The Paramount comics, Colbert and Stewart, are sharp critics of the ’60 Minutes’ deal

By DAVID BAUDER
Updated 4:19 PM EDT, July 15, 2025

NEW YORK (AP) — This isn’t a joke. They’ve made that clear.

CBS “Late Show” host Stephen Colbert condemned parent company Paramount Global’s settlement of President Donald Trump’s lawsuit over a “60 Minutes” story as a “big fat bribe” during his first show back from a vacation.

Colbert followed “The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart’s attack of the deal one week earlier. Stewart works for Comedy Central, also owned by Paramount, making the two comics the most visible internal critics of the $16 million settlement that was announced on July 1.

Colbert’s “bribe” reference was to the pending sale of Paramount to Skydance Media, which needs Trump administration approval. Critics of the deal that ended Trump’s lawsuit over the newsmagazine’s editing of its interview last fall with Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris suggested it was primarily to clear a hurdle to that sale.

-snip-

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/colbert-stewart-trump-paramount-settlement-0c4cf4688718f8bada17cba10b44bebf

[Silent Type]

1. I saw Colbert's rant last night. Kept watching, but they didn't yank him off.

[SocialDemocrat61]

5. His show was canceled today

The corrupt corporate media strikes again

[Silent Type]

6. True, though 9 months away. They didn't exactly yank him off.

[SocialDemocrat61]

7. They probably sold the advertising

through next year. So if they were to yank it off, they would have to give that money back.

[malaise]

2. Was good to see

Rec. Important

[AZJonnie]

3. Hold on a second ... this $16M is going into Trump's own pocket?

And as POTUS, he has the personal authority to approve or quash this merger? Are you fucking KIDDING me right now?

[LetMyPeopleVote]

4. Stephen Colbert's show axed after blasting CBS-Trump deal as 'big fat bribe'

This firing is part of the bribe to trump to approve a merger. The 60 Minutes Settlement was stupid and bad. This firing is just another part of the bribe CBS is paying to trump

Stephen Colbert's show axed after blasting CBS-Trump deal as 'big fat bribe'

www.rawstory.com/stephen-colb...

— Harriet Moses (@harrietmoses64.bsky.social) 2025-07-18T00:14:15.521Z

https://www.rawstory.com/stephen-colbert-2673354726/

CBS will end Stephen Colbert's "Late Show" next season after the comedian openly criticized the network and its parent company, Paramount, over a settlement with President Donald Trump.

CBS executives insisted in a statement that the cancellation was "purely a financial decision."

“We consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable and will retire ‘The Late Show’ franchise” in May of 2026,” CBS executives said in a statement to Variety. “We are proud that Stephen called CBS home. He and the broadcast will be remembered in the pantheon of greats that graced late night television. This is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”.....

The news comes after Colbert blasted CBS's deal with Trump to settle his lawsuit — widely regarded by legal experts as frivolous — over their editing of a "60 Minutes" interview with then–Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 presidential campaign.

"I believe this kind of complicated financial sentiment with a sitting government official has a technical name in legal circles. It’s ‘big fat bribe,’ because it all comes as Paramount’s owners are trying to get the Trump administration to approve the sale of our network to a new owner, Skydance!" Colbert said.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

8. Here is Colbert telling his audience

Link to tweet