After George Clooney said he believes newly appointed CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss is “dismantling CBS News as we speak,” Weiss responded with a pointed but polite invitation: come see it for yourself.
“Bonjour, Mr. Clooney! Big fan of your work,” Weiss said in a statement shared by Paramount Skydance. “It sounds like you’d like to learn more about ours. This is an open invitation to visit The CBS Broadcast Center, where I’m spending the holidays working to relaunch the Evening News with my colleagues. Tune in January 5.”
The “bonjour” appeared to be a nod to recent news that Clooney, his wife Amal, and their twins have become French citizens.
Clooney’s original comments came during a wide-ranging interview with Brent Lang, where the actor discussed his career, his upcoming film Jay Kelly, and his deep concerns about the state of journalism in the U.S.
“Am I worried about film studios? Sure. It’s my business,” Clooney said. “But my primary loyalty is to my country. I’m much more worried about how we inform ourselves and how we’re going to discern reality without a functioning press.”
The Oscar winner also weighed in on former President Donald Trump and his lawsuits against ABC News and CBS News. Clooney argued that the networks should have fought back harder.
“If CBS and ABC had challenged those lawsuits and said, ‘Go f*** yourself,’ we wouldn’t be where we are in the country,” Clooney said. “That’s simply the truth.”
Weiss, who took over leadership of CBS News in October, has already faced criticism during her short tenure. She recently drew backlash for abruptly pulling a 60 Minutes report on El Salvador’s controversial CECOT prison, a move that raised questions about editorial independence and decision-making inside the network.
Now, with Clooney publicly sounding the alarm and Weiss defending her vision, the clash highlights a much bigger debate: who controls the future of news, and how much pressure major media organizations should withstand in a polarized political climate.
Whether Clooney takes Weiss up on her newsroom invitation remains to be seen — but the spotlight on CBS News is clearly not fading anytime soon.
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