Lesley Stahl became the latest 60 Minutes journalist to take public aim at Shari Redstone, the head of CBS News parent company Paramount, over her attempts to settle a lawsuit from President Donald Trump. Stahl told The New Yorker Radio Hour she's "angry" at Redstone, accusing her of stepping "on the First Amendment" and "the freedom of the press."
Stahl, who has worked as a 60 Minutes correspondent for more than 30 years, denounced Trump's lawsuit and subsequent settlement talks as a way to "chill" the program. She also referenced Redstone's objections to 60 Minutes' coverage of the Israel-Hamas war, calling them "hard" and "very disconcerting."
"It steps on the First Amendment. It steps on the freedom of the press," Stahl said. "It makes me question whether any corporation should own a news operation." At another point in the interview, host David Remnick asked Stahl whether she was "angry at Shari Redstone." "Yes, I think I am," Stahl replied. "I think I am."
Stahl's remarks are the latest escalation in the increasingly public battle between 60 Minutes staffers and Redstone.
Trump sued the program in November, accusing it of "election and voter interference" for its choppy edit of a pre-election interview with Kamala Harris. It came as Redstone worked to close an $8 billion merger with media company Skydance—one that requires approval from Trump's FCC. Lawyers for Trump and Paramount entered talks to settle the suit late last month, and Redstone reportedly hopes a settlement will clear the path for the merger's completion.
Prominent 60 Minutes and CBS News employees have voiced disagreement over the strategy and accused Redstone of controlling the network's journalism to avoid Trump's ire. 60 Minutes executive producer Bill Owens resigned last month, telling colleagues he was no longer "allowed to run the show as I have always run it." CBS News president Wendy McMahon followed suit shortly thereafter, telling colleagues that "the company and I do not agree on a path forward." In her New Yorker interview, Stahl described Owens's departure as "painful" and "a punch in the stomach."
Others have stayed put at 60 Minutes while bashing Redstone and Paramount. Host Scott Pelley first concluded an April episode of 60 Minutes by saying Paramount "began to supervise our content in new ways." Weeks later, during a Wake Forest University commencement address delivered last week, Pelley compared "this moment" to the U.S. Civil War and Second World War and defended the DEI initiatives that Paramount has pledged to end.
"Why attack universities? Why attack journalism? Because ignorance works for power," he said. "First, make the truth-seekers live in fear."
60 Minutes aired its season finale last week and will not return until September. Outbursts from Pelley and Stahl, however, have kept the spotlight on Redstone even with the show off the air. Stahl told Remnick she's "already beginning to think about mourning, grieving" about the decline of 60 Minutes but is "holding out hope." She did not commit to leaving the show should Paramount and Trump reach a settlement.
"But you wouldn't walk away?" Remnick asked. "Depends," Stahl replied. "You asked me where my line is. I'm not sure. I don't think I can express what it is, but there is a line. Of course there's a line."
Paramount recently offered Trump $15 million to settle, according to the Wall Street Journal, which reported that Trump's team "wants more than $25 million and is also seeking an apology." Trump's team has also threatened to file an additional suit against CBS News over a May 4 60 Minutes segment that likened Trump to a "mob boss."