Liberal comedian Rosie O'Donnell accused CBS of "capitulating" to former President Donald Trump, characterizing the network's $16 million settlement of his "60 Minutes" lawsuit as a "bribe" that compromised the independence of the press. O'Donnell made the remarks on "Bleep! with Ana Navarro," a podcast hosted by "The View" co-host Ana Navarro.
"They gave him a bribe and it’s unforgivable," O'Donnell stated, referencing remarks made by comedian Stephen Colbert on his show last year. O'Donnell expressed concern that the agreement demonstrated a lack of a sufficiently independent media capable of scrutinizing the government.
"We need a very vibrant, alive, independent media. And we no longer have it in this country," O'Donnell said.
The lawsuit stemmed from a "60 Minutes" interview in October 2024 with then-Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump alleged that CBS had deceptively edited Harris' response regarding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to her political advantage before the presidential election.
Paramount Global and CBS settled the lawsuit in July 2025 for $16 million. The settlement covered legal costs and included a contribution toward Trump's future presidential library or charitable endeavors. The agreement did not contain an apology or an admission of journalistic wrongdoing, and no funds were directly paid to Trump.
At the time of the settlement, a spokesperson for Trump's legal team described the agreement as a victory, stating, "CBS and Paramount Global realized the strength of this historic case and had no choice but to settle."
During her conversation with Navarro, O'Donnell referred to Trump as a "convicted sexual rapist." Navarro cautioned O'Donnell regarding the description, which relates to a civil jury finding Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll. Separately, ABC News agreed to pay $15 million toward Trump's future presidential foundation or museum after anchor George Stephanopoulos repeatedly stated Trump had been found liable for rape.
Colbert had criticized the CBS settlement on "The Late Show" citing the pending multibillion-dollar merger between Paramount and Skydance Media. He described the settlement as a "big fat bribe."
Three days after the settlement, CBS announced it would cancel "The Late Show" at the end of the 2025-2026 season, attributing the decision to financial factors and stating it was "not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount."
The Federal Communications Commission approved Skydance's $8 billion acquisition of Paramount three weeks after the settlement, with the merger closing in August 2025. Paramount had asserted that Trump's lawsuit was "completely separate from, and unrelated to, the Skydance transaction and the FCC approval process."