Stephen Colbert offered his corporate bosses a simple math lesson after President Donald Trump claimed the company would pay up millions more than had been initially reported as part of a widely criticized settlement.
CBS parent Paramount agreed to pay Trump $16 million to settle a lawsuit most legal observers believed to be without merit, but comes as the company attempts to complete a merger that requires FCC approval.
Then, the network canceled Colbert’s “Late Show.” While the network claimed it was “purely a financial decision” due to the show losing a reported $40 million a year, Trump himself had specifically called on the network to “terminate” Colbert’s contract.
Many observers believe political pressure played a role.
Now, Trump is claiming that Paramount also promised that the new owners will pay an additional $20 million in PSAs, ads, and similar programming.
“Plus, they’re paying his legal fees,” Colbert pointed out on Wednesday, then added up the numbers. “That means by bending the knee, they lost like $40 million this year.”
That number sounded a little too familiar.
“They better watch out,” Colbert warned. “They might get canceled!”
He added: “For purely financial reasons.”
Paramount has denied Trump’s claim of an additional $20 million.
Colbert said he hopes that denial is true.
“Because could you imagine how angry people would be? Last year, Paramount laid off 2,000 employees, then cut another several hundred just last month,” he said. “Firing that many people, and then handing over 36 mil to a guy who’s putting your neighbors in alligator camps, all because of a lawsuit that your own lawyers said was completely without merit. If that’s true, it would make CBS look morally bankrupt. Also bankrupt.”
See more in his Wednesday night monologue:
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