CNN's Jake Tapper Rips CBS' Shari Redstone For Capitulation

CNN anchor Jake Tapper made sharp criticisms of Shari Redstone, the controlling shareholder of Paramount Global (CBS’s parent company), on his show The Lead on this week, accusing her of compromising CBS News’ journalistic integrity by likely settling a $20 billion lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump against CBS. 

Tapper’s comments framed Redstone’s potential settlement as “bending the knee” to Trump to protect a lucrative merger with Skydance Media, prioritizing profit over principles. Below is a detailed breakdown of Tapper’s remarks, their context, and their relevance to the user’s interest in media dynamics, drawing on provided web sources and X posts.

Tapper’s key comment, “It seems as if Shari Redstone is likely to bend the knee to Trump and settle this allegedly frivolous lawsuit,” suggesting Redstone is sacrificing CBS’s editorial independence to appease Trump.  He concluded with a pointed jab: “Hope the money’s worth it, Shari,” implying Redstone’s motives are driven by financial gain rather than journalistic values.

Tapper explained that Trump’s lawsuit, filed under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, alleges CBS’s 60 Minutes deceptively edited an October 2024 interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris to favor her in the 2024 election. Trump claims the network cut a “word salad” response about the Israel-Hamas conflict, airing a shorter version to make Harris appear more coherent.

Tapper defended CBS’s actions, noting, “This is just editorial discretion. Editors do it all the time with recorded interviews, including all the time with taped interviews by Fox [News].” He cited legal experts who call the lawsuit “frivolous” and likely to fail in court.

Tapper linked Redstone’s potential settlement to Paramount’s proposed multibillion-dollar merger with Skydance Media, which requires approval from the Trump administration’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC), led by Trump-appointed chair Brendan Carr. He said, “Shari Redstone is the majority owner of Paramount, and she stands to make a fortune if this merger goes through.”