Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Friday stopped by “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” on CBS and had no downside calling out Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison, whose firm just lately acquired the very community she was showing on.
The title drop got here after Colbert thanked Warren for the “honor” of dressing her canine as him for Halloween this yr. The senator famous that “there’s a reason” she and her golden retriever Bailey had picked that exact costume.
“Bailey and I talked about this, and we don’t think one corporation, or one man named David Ellison, should be able to buy up all the shows and buy up all the sports and buy up all the news, and decide who watches what and who pays what,” Warren stated. “I’m gonna stay in that fight.”
Ellison’s firm, Skydance Media, bought Paramount International in August in an $8.4 billion merger following the cancellation of Colbert’s present. The Federal Communications Fee permitted the deal, and President Donald Trump publicly celebrated the approaching finish to “The Late Show.” Warren condemned the merger.
Ellison has since been making ready a bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, which would come with all of its cable networks and the world-renowned film studio.
Warren, in flip, penned a letter earlier this week alongside fellow Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) to Division of Justice Assistant Legal professional Normal Abigail Slater, who makes a speciality of antitrust points, to lift considerations in regards to the attainable union.
The trio reportedly known as for a radical assessment of any potential deal of their letter, which they stated would happen “under a cloud of political favoritism and corruption,” in response to a duplicate of the letter obtained Wednesday by The Hollywood Reporter.
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CBS introduced the cancellation of Colbert’s present after he mocked the community’s then-parent firm, Paramount International, for settling a $16 million lawsuit with Trump whereas awaiting approval from the FCC below his administration for the Skydance merger.
Warren famous on the time that the payout previous that approval appeared like “bribery.”
She and her colleagues reportedly wrote of their letter that antitrust legal guidelines are “necessary” to guard the free market “and economic security for working families,” and that any potential sale should be “grounded in the law, not President Trump’s political favoritism.”
Colbert reacted to her feedback Friday by trying into the digicam with a smile, stating, “I have never met Mr. Ellison, and I’m sure he’s a fine fella.” He then turned his consideration again to Warren and jokingly stated, “You’re going to get me sued.”
