CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss mocked newly minted French citizen George Clooney after he accused her of damaging the network, invited him to visit the newsroom, and suggested he could use a journalism refresher.
“Bonjour, Mr. Clooney! Big fan of your work. It sounds like you’d like to learn more about ours,” Weiss said in an email statement that CBS parent company Paramount Skydance shared with The Post on Tuesday. “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 French salutation was a cheeky nod to last week’s news that Clooney, his wife Amal, and their twin children were granted French citizenship. Weiss’s jab followed a magazine interview in which Clooney attacked CBS News, accusing the network of bowing to President Trump and blaming its new editor in chief for undermining its journalistic integrity.
Clooney recently portrayed legendary CBS News anchor Edward R. Murrow in the Broadway adaptation of Good Night, and Good Luck, after previously directing the award-winning film version.
“Bari Weiss is dismantling CBS News as we speak,” Clooney told Variety, alleging that CBS and rival networks abandoned their duty by settling lawsuits with the president and claiming such moves have reshaped the American media landscape for the worse.
Earlier this month, Weiss faced criticism for pulling a “60 Minutes” segment on El Salvador’s CECOT prison. Clooney offered little detail in his critique, delivering a blunt rebuke instead. He said CBS has abandoned the responsibility embodied by Murrow to hold power accountable, arguing the decline became clear when the network settled Trump’s lawsuit over a “60 Minutes” interview — a decision he believes paved the way for Paramount’s sale to Skydance.
Paramount agreed to pay Trump $16 million to settle a defamation lawsuit tied to a “60 Minutes” interview with then–Vice President Kamala Harris. Clooney also criticized Disney, ABC’s parent company, for settling a separate lawsuit brought by Trump over on-air remarks by George Stephanopoulos.
“If CBS and ABC had challenged those lawsuits and said, ‘Go, f–k yourself,’ we wouldn’t be where we are in the country. That’s simply the truth,” Clooney told Variety.
Despite his new citizenship, Clooney said his “primary loyalty is to my country,” referring to the U.S., adding that he is more troubled by what he sees as the collapse of a “functioning press” than by upheaval in Hollywood or the film industry.
George Clooney says Bari Weiss is “dismantling CBS News as we speak.”
“Am I worried about film studios? Sure. It’s my business, but my primary loyalty is to my country,” Clooney says. “I’m much more worried about how we inform ourselves and how we’re going to discern reality… pic.twitter.com/OCE9opOlgl
— Variety (@Variety) December 30, 2025
The Dennis Michael Lynch Podcast archive is available below, with the most recent on top. Never miss an episode. Subscribe to the show by downloading The DML News App or go to Apple Podcasts.
