Exclusive | Bari Weiss invites George Clooney to visit CBS newsroom

Exclusive | Bari Weiss invites George Clooney to visit CBS newsroom

CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss ribbed newly minted French citizen George Clooney after the star accused her of wrecking the network, inviting him to the newsroom and hinting he may be in want of a journalism refresher.

“Bonjour, Mr. Clooney! Big fan of your work. It sounds like you’d like to learn more about ours,” Weiss said in an e-mail assertion that CBS mother or father company Paramount Skydance shared with The Post on Tuesday.

“This is an open invitation to visit the CBS Broadcast Center, where I’m spending the holidays working to relaunch the Evening News with my colleagues. Tune in January 5.”

The French salutation was a cheeky reference to last week’s announcement that Clooney, his glamorous spouse Amal and their twin kids had been awarded French citizenship.

George Clooney unloaded on CBS News, blasting the network for caving to President Trump and accusing new editor-in-chief Bari Weiss of wrecking its journalistic core. Getty Images for BFI

Weiss’s intelligent troll of Clooney got here in response to {a magazine} interview by which he unloaded on CBS News, blasting the network for allegedly caving to President Trump and accusing its new editor in chief of wrecking its journalistic core.

Clooney lately portrayed legendary CBS News anchor Edward R. Murrow in the Broadway version of “Good Night, and Good Luck,” having directed the award-winning movie version years earlier.

“Bari Weiss is dismantling CBS News as we speak,” the Oscar winner told the Hollywood commerce publication Variety, alleging that CBS and rival networks deserted their responsibility by settling lawsuits with the president.

He said such strikes have reshaped the American media panorama for the worse.

Weiss has come under hearth for her current determination to delay the airing of a “60 Minutes” phase. CBS by way of Getty Images

Earlier this month, Weiss got here under scrutiny for yanking a “60 Minutes” phase on the CECOT jail in El Salvador, the infamous website the place the Trump administration despatched migrants suspected of committing crimes.

Clooney didn’t go into element about his criticism of Weiss, issuing a blunt, top-line condemnation, instead.

The star said the network has failed the basic sense of accountability Murrow embodied — holding energy to account when the other branches of presidency fall quick.

He argued that the rot turned simple when CBS settled Trump’s lawsuit over a “60 Minutes” interview fairly than combating it — a transfer Clooney believes cleared the manner for Paramount’s sale to Skydance earlier this 12 months.

The “60 Minutes” phase was devoted to the CECOT jail in El Salvador, the infamous website the place the Trump administration despatched migrants suspected of committing crimes. AFP by way of Getty Images

Paramount agreed to pay Trump $16 million to settle a defamation lawsuit stemming from a “60 Minutes” interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris.

Clooney also called out ABC mother or father company Disney for setting a lawsuit introduced by Trump following on-air comments made by George Stephanopoulos.

“If CBS and ABC had challenged those lawsuits and said, ‘Go, f–k yourself,’ we wouldn’t be where we are in the country. That’s simply the truth,” Clooney told Variety.

Notwithstanding his new citizenship, Clooney averred, “My primary loyalty is to my country” — apparently referring to the US.

He added that he’s far more alarmed by the alleged collapse of a “functioning press” than by turbulence in Hollywood or the movie enterprise.

The Post has sought remark from the White House, Clooney, ABC and Disney.

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