On Thursday night, Stephen Colbert hosted Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren on his show, where she wasted no time in addressing concerns about the leadership of Paramount, the parent company of CBS.
In a bold move, Warren interrupted Colbert almost immediately to criticize Paramount’s CEO, David Ellison. This came in the wake of previous questions she had raised regarding the potential political motivations behind CBS’s decision to cancel “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
During her appearance, Warren did not hold back, explicitly naming Ellison and expressing her concerns about media consolidation. “We don’t think one man or one corporation named David Ellison should be able to buy up all the shows, buy up all the sports, and buy up all the news, deciding who watches what and who says what,” she declared. “And I’m going to stay in that fight. So, we’re there.”
The senator’s remarks were met with applause from the audience at New York City’s Ed Sullivan Theater, a reflection of the public’s interest in media ownership. Her comments came at a time when Paramount had made a bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of CNN, earlier in the week.
‘And I’m going to stay in that fight. So, we’re there,’
The audience New York City’s Ed Sullivan Theater applauded in response, after Paramount entered a bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery – CNN’s parent company – this week.
Colbert, meanwhile, grimaced. His response was riddled with sarcasm.
‘I’ve never met Mr. Ellison, and I’m sure he’s a fine fella,’ he said, turning to the camera as he spoke.
Elizabeth Warren wasted no time tearing into Stephen Colbert’s bosses at CBS parent Paramount during an appearance on his show Thursday night
Warren called out new Paramount CEO David Ellison by name, within seconds of sitting down
‘You’re going to get me sued,’ the host quickly told Warren, speaking in a stage whisper.
The two proceeded to turn to another topic, after Paramount faced a torrent of criticism from progressives for paying Donald Trump $16million to settle a lawsuit earlier this year.
Warren led such calls, as did Colbert. The suit surrounded a September 2024 60 Minutes segment the conservative claimed was ‘deceptively edited’
In July, days before CBS announced Colbert would tape his last episode May, Warren took to social media to accuse Trump of ‘what looks like corruption in plain sight’.
‘Paramount/CBS: $16 MILLION; Meta: $22 MILLION; Disney/ABC: $15 MILLION; X: $10 MILLION,’ she wrote in a post to X, rattling off a list of companies the conservative has received settlements from.
Two days prior, on his first day back from summer break Colbert ranted at his Paramount bosses for forking over the sum, which he called a ‘big fat bribe.’
‘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,’ he said at the time.
‘As someone who has always been a proud employee of this network, I’m offended,’
‘You’re going to get me sued,’ Colbert joked in return
Ellison is the son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison (right), a well-known GOP donor who donated to Donald Trump’s campaign
That same month, the merger between Ellison’s corporation Skydance and Paramount was solidified after a year in limbo.
The same week Colbert spoke out against Paramount, he learned his show was being canned.
‘Next year will be our last season. The network will be ending The Late Show in May,’ he told his audience at the time.
A report from Puck journalist Matthew Belloni the following day – as well as a statement from Paramount – blamed the move on a lack of finances.
Sources said the show was losing $40 million a year, with Colbert earning around $15 million a year to host it.
The same day as the Puck report, Warren suggested he move was linked to Paramount’s then-soon-to-be-inked merger with Skydance in a post to social media.
‘CBS canceled Colbert’s show just THREE DAYS after Colbert called out CBS parent company Paramount for its $16M settlement with Trump – a deal that looks like bribery.
‘America deserves to know if his show was canceled for political reasons.’
Back in July, Warren took to X to question whether CBS’s decision to cancel ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’ was a politically motivated one
The merger was swiftly approved, and Ellison was minted as Paramount’s new chief.
He has since pledged to shed any prior political connotations that may be tied to the company.
Ellison is the son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison, a well-known GOP donor and the fourth-richest man alive, according to Forbes.
Colbert’s late night stablemates Jimmy Kimmel and Seth Meyers have faced criticism for turning off viewers with late night rants about politics.
Many have called for a return to gentler chat involving celebrities that made pioneering late night host Johnny Carson an icon of broadcasting.
