Actor and outspoken liberal George Clooney sharply criticized ABC and CBS for settling lawsuits brought by President Donald Trump, arguing the networks should have fought back rather than paying multimillion-dollar settlements.
Both CBS and ABC agreed to pay at least $16 million each to resolve legal disputes with Trump. Clooney, who now lives in France after moving his family away from Hollywood, said the decisions reflect a troubling lack of resistance from major media organizations.
“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 in an interview with Variety.
Calling the current climate exhausting and demoralizing, Clooney added, “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.”
In July, Paramount Global and CBS agreed to pay a $16 million upfront settlement to resolve Trump’s lawsuit over how 60 Minutes edited and aired a 2024 interview with then–Democratic rival Kamala Harris. Trump’s legal team had originally sought $10 billion, alleging that the use of edited clips from a single response about Israel amounted to election interference. The settlement was framed by Trump’s attorneys as a victory for media accountability.
That same month, the Federal Communications Commission approved an $8 billion merger between Paramount and Skydance Media, placing David Ellison at the helm of the newly formed company. Ellison later selected Bari Weiss to lead CBS News, a move Clooney said deeply concerns him.
“Bari Weiss is dismantling CBS News as we speak,” Clooney said. “I’m worried about how we inform ourselves and how we’re going to discern reality without a functioning press.”
Trump’s legal victory over CBS followed ABC’s apology and a $16 million settlement last December after Trump sued the network for defamation. The lawsuit stemmed from comments made on This Week by anchor George Stephanopoulos, who said Trump had been held “liable for rape.” In reality, the jury in the E. Jean Carroll case found Trump liable for sexual abuse, not rape.
ABC and CBS did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
During the same interview, Clooney reflected on his past relationship with Trump, describing it as once friendly.
“I knew him very well,” Clooney said. “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 at restaurants. He’s a big goofball. Well, he was. That all changed.”
Clooney has long been vocal about politics and previously wrote an essay calling for former President Joe Biden to step aside as the Democratic nominee in the 2024 election following Biden’s widely criticized debate performance against Trump.
Clooney and his wife, Amal Alamuddin Clooney, were recently granted French citizenship.
