Stephen Colbert Takes on His Own Network for ‘Big Fat Bribe’ to Trump
Colbert trashed Paramount’s lack of “dignity” in their handling of Trump’s lawsuit.
Stephen Colbert is not impressed with Paramount.
The late night host ripped into the media group on Monday for its $16 million settlement with President Trump. The settlement was reached July 3 after Trump alleged 60 Minutes had deceptively edited their 2024 interview with Kamala Harris.
“As someone who has always been a proud employee of this network, I’m offended, and I don’t know if anything will ever repair my trust in this company,” Colbert said.
He jokingly added, “But just taking a stab at it, I’d say $16 million would help.”
Colbert argued that Trump’s lawsuit could’ve easily have been fought off, but Paramount chose not to for purely financial reasons.
Get the best of The Beast delivered right to your inbox
By clicking “SUBSCRIBE” you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
“I believe this kind of complicated financial settlement with a sitting government official has a technical name in legal circles: it’s Big Fat Bribe,” Colbert said.
A bribe for what, exactly? Colbert explained, “This 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.”
The merger with Skydance could potentially, as some reports warn, put the stability of both Stephen Colbert’s show and Comedy Central’s The Daily Show (also owned by Paramount) at risk.
Quoting from Puck news, Colbert said, “Once Skydance gets CBS, the new owner’s desire to please Trump could ‘put pressure on late night host and frequent Trump critic Stephen Colbert.’”
“Okay,” Colbert replied, “But how are they going to put pressure on Stephen Colbert if they can’t find him?”
As he said this, Colbert pointed slyly to his new gray mustache.
Colbert offered Paramount some credit for not falsely admitting to any wrongdoing with the 60 Minutes interview, but it was faint praise.
“Unlike the payoffs from ABC and Twitter, Paramount’s settlement did not include an apology,” Colbert said.
The late night host joked, “Instead the corporation released a statement where they said, ‘You may take our money, but you will never take our dignity. You may, however, purchase our dignity for the low, low price of $16 million.’”
See more of our coverage in your search results.
Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.
Unlock a year of full access to The Looker and The Daily Beast for $35.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Looker and The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.
Sign in
Login dialog