Former Paramount executive Shari Redstone disclosed in an interview with the New York Times that CBS personnel had reported then-President Joe Biden appeared drowsy during a 2023 ’60 Minutes’ interview with Scott Pelley. Redstone expressed concerns that Trump’s legal team might exploit unaired footage from the interview to undermine CBS’s credibility. These worries were part of the rationale for settling Trump’s lawsuit against CBS News, which she claimed could have had damaging repercussions.
Redstone and her son Tyler Korff feared that raw footage and internal communications released during the legal process could harm CBS’s reputation, especially as the company faced scrutiny over its 2024 interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris. The settlement, which provided Trump with $16 million upfront for legal fees and other expenses, was viewed as a necessary step to expedite the Paramount-Skydance merger and allow Redstone to exit the newly formed company.
The settlement sparked significant controversy, with many critics arguing that it demonstrated a lack of journalistic independence. Redstone, however, described the decision as a ‘no-brainer,’ emphasizing that the board needed to prioritize shareholder interests over individual concerns. Meanwhile, the controversy over the Biden interview continues to draw attention, with some observers suggesting that the footage may have exacerbated existing uncertainties about his mental fitness for the presidency.