CBS co-CEO George Cheeks claimed on Wednesday that Paramount Global settled with President Donald Trump for millions in his 60 Minutes lawsuit to avoid a high-stakes legal battle.
Cheeks, responding to a question during the company’s shareholder meeting on Wednesday, said companies like Paramount “often settle litigation to avoid the high and somewhat unpredictable cost of legal defense,” according to Variety. Paramount also wanted to minimize the risk of “an adverse judgment,” Cheeks said.
Paramount announced late Tuesday that it would pay $16 million toward Trump’s presidential library to end his $20 billion lawsuit over a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris, which Trump claimed distorted one of her answers. The company began to fight the case in court, but it ultimately entered settlement talks in April.
The settlement mirrors Disney’s $16 million settlement with Trump in December over a separate defamation suit, though Paramount’s does not include an apology or statement of regret.
“Settlement offers a negotiated resolution to allow companies to focus on their core objectives rather than being mired in uncertainty and distraction,” Cheeks said on Wednesday.
One of Paramount’s core objectives: completing its merger with David Ellison’s Skydance, which the Federal Communication Commission held up over an official distortion complaint about the interview.
The company stressed on Tuesday that the settlement was unrelated to completing the deal, though controlling shareholder Shari Redstone—who’s set to receive a $2.4 billion payout if it’s completed-had sought a deal.
Trump has previously claimed the lawsuit and the merger are unrelated.
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