New Paramount CEO David Ellison sidestepped questions about President Donald Trump and settlement terms with the president’s administration, telling reporters Thursday he would not be “politicizing anything today."
Ellison made the comments after the contentious $8 billion merger between Skydance and Paramount was completed Thursday. The merger's close came just two weeks after it received regulatory approval from the Trump administration, coming weeks after Paramount agreed to pay a $16 million settlement to the president in early July related to a "60 Minutes" interview with Kamala Harris that Trump claimed was highly edited to make her sound better ahead of the 2024 election.
Ellison was asked about Trump’s claim that he made a side deal for $20 million in free advertising with the previous Paramount executive team.
“We were not involved in the settlement in any way,” Ellison said, adding that Skydance “complied with all laws, including the antibribery law.”
When pressed, Ellison said, “We are not going to politicize anything today. We want to entertain first.”
Ellison was also asked about how he plans to "root out the bias that has undermined the trust in national news media," a claim made by Federal Communications Chair Brendan Carr about CBS News, a division Ellison now owns.
"I do not want to politicize our company in any way, shape, or form," Ellison replied. "We're ready to move past the noise.”
In response to claims of bias, new Paramount President Jeff Shell said they agreed to install an ombudsman at CBS News, saying it will be a “transparency vehicle, not an oversight vehicle.”
Ellison did address the cancellation of the long running “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” which was nixed days before the FCC approved the merger. Ellison cited a letter sent to Democrat senators from Skydance’s general counsel saying the company was “not involved” in the Colbert decision.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.