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Liberal comedian Rosie O’Donnell accused CBS of “capitulating” to President Donald Trump on Monday during “The View” co-host Ana Navarro’s podcast, saying the network’s $16 million settlement of his “60 Minutes” lawsuit was a “bribe” that undermined an independent press.
Appearing on “Bleep! with Ana Navarro,” O’Donnell invoked former CBS late-night host Stephen Colbert, who used similar language while criticizing the agreement on his show last year.
“[CBS] capitulated. They did exactly what Stephen Colbert said they did,” O’Donnell said. “They gave him a bribe and it’s unforgivable.”
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O’Donnell said the agreement demonstrated why she believed the country no longer had a sufficiently independent media establishment to scrutinize the government.
“We need a very vibrant, alive, independent media,” O’Donnell said. “And we no longer have it in this country.”
The CBS case concerned the network’s editing of an October 2024 “60 Minutes” interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump accused CBS of deceptively editing Harris’ answer about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to benefit her before the presidential election.
Paramount Global and CBS settled the lawsuit in July 2025 for $16 million, covering legal costs and a contribution to Trump’s future presidential library or charitable causes. The agreement contained no apology or admission of journalistic wrongdoing, and no money was paid directly to Trump.
Trump’s legal team portrayed the settlement as a victory over the media.
“CBS and Paramount Global realized the strength of this historic case and had no choice but to settle,” a Trump legal spokesperson said at the time.
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During the discussion with Navarro on Monday, O’Donnell referred to Trump as a “convicted sexual rapist” while explaining why she moved to Ireland following his 2024 election victory. Navarro cautioned her against the description, prompting O’Donnell to turn to CBS and its settlement.
Trump was not criminally convicted of rape. A civil jury found him liable for sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll. ABC News separately agreed to pay $15 million toward Trump’s future presidential foundation or museum after anchor George Stephanopoulos repeatedly said Trump had been found liable for rape.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and CBS for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
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Colbert criticized the CBS settlement with Trump on “The Late Show” last year because Paramount was awaiting federal approval of its multibillion-dollar merger with Skydance Media.
“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.
CBS announced three days later it would cancel “The Late Show” at the end of the 2025-2026 season, calling the move a financial decision unrelated to Colbert’s content or other developments at Paramount.
“It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount,” CBS said in a July 2025 press release.
Colbert hosted the program’s final episode in May.
The Federal Communications Commission approved Skydance’s $8 billion acquisition of Paramount three weeks after the settlement. The merger closed in August 2025. Paramount maintained during the proceedings that Trump’s lawsuit was “completely separate from, and unrelated to, the Skydance transaction and the FCC approval process.”
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