‘Morally Bankrupt’: Colbert Brutally Torches Paramount Bosses for Alleged Secret Deal With Trump
Stephen Colbert continued to torch his “morally bankrupt” network CBS and its parent company Paramount for the $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump and new reports of $20 million more.
The Late Show, which Colbert hosts, was abruptly canceled after Trump’s legal wrangling with CBS parent company Paramount, prompting the host to accuse the network of capitulating to political pressure, despite the official line that his departure was simply a “financial decision.” Trump himself had publicly demanded Colbert be “terminated.”
The president, however, is now claiming that, beyond the reported $16 million payout, Paramount’s new owners also agreed to pony up another $20 million in service “programming” – a claim the company flatly denies.
In a Truth Social post on Wednesday Trump wrote: “Paramount/CBS/60 Minutes have today paid $16 Million Dollars in settlement, and we also anticipate receiving $20 Million Dollars more from the new Owners, in Advertising, PSAs [public service announcements], or similar Programming, for a total of over $36 Million Dollars.”
Still, Colbert was quick to connect the dots, with the company still seeking FCC approval for a potential merger, and took to flaming his network once again during a monologue that night musing: “One bright spot for Trump in the news right now is how much he’s making my network crawl.”
He continued, after reading out Trump’s post about Paramount’s extra $20 million:
Hold on, plus they’re paying his legal fees? That means by bending the knee, they lost like $40 million this year. Huh. They better watch out, they might get canceled… for purely financial reasons. Purely.
As the audience applauded and cheered the jab, he continued:
The present owners are denying that additional $20 million, which I hope is true, because could you imagine how angry people would be? Last year, Paramount laid off 2,000 employees, then cut another several hundred just last month. Firing that many people and then handing over 36 mil to a guy who is putting your neighbors in alligator camps, all because of a lawsuit that your own lawyers said was completely without merit, if that’s true, it would make CBS morally bankrupt. Also, bankrupt.
Watch above via CBS.
