Bari Weiss invites George Clooney to CBS newsroom after actor publicly slams her leadership
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss has publicly invited actor George Clooney to visit the network’s newsroom, responding to his blunt criticism that she is 'dismantling CBS News as we speak.'
The unusual exchange sparked by Clooney’s recent interview condemning media leadership has become the latest flashpoint in a broader debate over CBS News’ direction under Weiss and the pressures facing legacy journalism.
Clooney’s public rebuke of CBS leadership
In a recent interview with Variety, Oscar-winning actor George Clooney sharply criticized Weiss’s stewardship of CBS News, saying she is "dismantling CBS News as we speak."
Clooney’s remarks were part of a broader discussion about journalism’s role in American democracy and followed controversial decisions at CBS that have drawn scrutiny.
Clooney argued that the network’s decision-making reflects a departure from the journalistic principles embodied by icons such as Edward R. Murrow, a figure he himself has portrayed on Broadway.
He said that settling lawsuits with President Trump over news content rather than fighting them undermines the press’s responsibility to hold power accountable.
Bari Weiss’s response: Invitation with a wink
Weiss responded to Clooney’s critique with an email conveyed via CBS’s parent company, Paramount Skydance, offering a cordial invitation for him to see the newsroom firsthand.
“Bonjour, Mr. Clooney! Big fan of your work. It sounds like you’d like to learn more about ours,” her message read, a light-hearted jab tied to Clooney’s recently announced French citizenship along with his wife Amal and their twins.
In the statement, Weiss noted that she was spending part of the holiday season working with colleagues to relaunch CBS Evening News, and invited Clooney to visit the Broadcast Center.
CBS’ settlements and editorial choices
Central to Clooney’s criticism is CBS’s handling of defamation claims and internal editorial decisions.
Earlier this month, Weiss drew criticism after pulling a previously approved ‘60 Minutes’ segment examining El Salvador’s CECOT prison, the high-security facility where the Trump administration has sent migrants accused of criminal activity.
Clooney has cited the network’s choice to settle a defamation lawsuit with President Trump as emblematic of a failure to uphold journalism’s watchdog role.
Clooney said that if networks like CBS and ABC had fought such suits aggressively, "We wouldn’t be where we are in the country."
Clooney also broadened his criticism to include ABC’s parent company Disney for settling its own Trump-related lawsuit.
