This isn't a joke. They've made that clear.
CBS "Late Show" host Stephen Colbert condemned parent company Paramount Global's settlement of President Donald Trump's lawsuit over a "60 Minutes" story as a "big fat bribe" during his first show back from a vacation.
Colbert followed "The Daily Show" host Jon Stewart's attack of the deal one week earlier. Stewart works for Comedy Central, also owned by Paramount, making the two comics the most visible internal critics of the 16 million settlement that was announced on July 1.
Colbert's "bribe" reference was to the pending sale of Paramount to Skydance Media, which needs Trump administration approval. Critics of the deal that ended Trump's lawsuit over the newsmagazine's editing of its interview last fall with Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris suggested it was primarily to clear a hurdle to that sale.
"I am offended," Colbert said in his monologue Monday night. "I don't know if anything - anything - will repair my trust in this company. But, just taking a stab at it, I'd say 16 million would help."