George Clooney Claims Bari Weiss Is ‘Dismantling CBS News As We Speak’

Actor George Clooney claimed during a recent interview that new editorial chief Bari Weiss is “dismantling CBS News as we speak,” wringing his hands about a possible future in which the United States would be forced to operate “without a functioning press.”

Clooney did not just single out CBS News in the interview, a cover story published by Variety. In fact, he argued that a number of legacy media outlets had lost their footing when they settled various lawsuits with President Donald Trump.

“If CBS and ABC had challenged those lawsuits and said, ‘Go, f*** yourself,’ we wouldn’t be where we are in the country,” Clooney says. “That’s simply the truth.”

Clooney cited the ABC News lawsuit and suggested that the network should have fought harder — in spite of the fact that longtime anchor George Stephanopoulos had been warned “so many times” prior to his broadcast not to say that Trump had been found “liable for rape” because it was demonstrably untrue. The anchor’s failure to comply with that directive cost the network millions.

His main beef was with the new direction taken by CBS News under new Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss — who was offered the job by David Ellison, Skydance founder and Paramount chairman, after a merger.

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“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. I’m much more worried about how we inform ourselves and how we’re going to discern reality without a functioning press,” he complained.

Clooney, who is largely credited with turning the tide against former President Joe Biden in the summer of 2024, has been very critical of President Trump — a former friend of his — as well.

“It’s a very trying time. It can depress you or make you very angry. But you have to find the most positive way through it. You have to put your head down and keep moving forward because quitting isn’t an option,” he said, adding of Trump, “I knew him very well. He used to call me a lot, and he tried to help me get into a hospital once to see a back surgeon. I’d see him out at clubs and see him out at restaurants. He’s a big goofball. Well, he was. That all changed.”