Elizabeth Warren criticizes CBS owner on her own network:
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) stopped by “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” on News on Friday and had no problem criticizing Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison, whose company recently acquired the same network on which she appeared.
The name drop came after Colbert thanked Warren for the “honor” of dressing his dog like him for Halloween this year. The senator noted that “there is a reason” why she and her golden retriever Bailey had chosen that particular costume.
“Bailey and I talked about this, and we don’t believe that a corporation, or a man named David Ellison, should be able to buy all the shows and all the sports and all the news, and decide who watches what and who pays for what,” Warren said. “I’m going to stay in that fight.”
Ellison’s company, Skydance Media, bought Paramount Global in August in an $8.4 billion merger following the cancellation of Colbert’s show. The Federal Communications Commission approved the deal, and President Donald Trump publicly celebrated the upcoming finale of “The Late Show.” Warren condemned the merger.
Since then, Ellison has been preparing a bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, which would include all of its cable networks and the world-renowned movie studio.
Warren, in turn, wrote a letter earlier this week alongside fellow Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) to Justice Department Deputy Attorney General Abigail Slater, who specializes in antitrust issues, to raise concerns about the potential merger.
The trio reportedly called for a thorough review of any potential deal in their letter, which they said would occur “under a cloud of political favoritism and corruption,” according to a copy of the letter obtained Wednesday by The Hollywood Reporter.
Evan Agostini/Invision/News
News announced the cancellation of Colbert’s show after he mocked the network’s then-parent company, Paramount Global, for settling a $16 million lawsuit with Trump while awaiting FCC approval under his administration for the merger with Skydance.
Warren noted at the time that the payment that preceded that approval seemed like a “bribe.”
She and her colleagues allegedly wrote in their letter that antitrust laws are “necessary” to protect the free market “and the economic security of working families,” and that any potential sale should be “based on the law, not President Trump’s political favoritism.”
Colbert reacted to his comments Friday by looking at the camera with a smile and saying, “I’ve never met Mr. Ellison and I’m sure he’s a good guy.” He then turned his attention to Warren and jokingly said, “You’re going to get me sued.”