Shari Redstone, the once-powerful steward of Paramount Global, has broken her silence on the company’s headline-grabbing sale to Skydance Media and the legal drama that swirled around the media empire in her final years at the helm. In a series of candid interviews with The New York Times and other outlets, Redstone offered a rare glimpse into her motivations, regrets, and the high-stakes calculations that shaped the end of her family’s control over one of Hollywood’s most storied names.
“I just wanted to be free,” Redstone told The New York Times shortly after Skydance Media, led by David Ellison, finalized its $8 billion purchase of Paramount—a price tag that was only about a third of what the company was worth when she first took over. The deal, announced in July 2024 and approved by the FCC a year later, marked the end of a five-year chapter for Redstone, who inherited Paramount Global from her father, Sumner Redstone, in 2020. For her, the sale was not just a business decision but a personal liberation after years of what she described as “constant litigation” and corporate infighting. “When my father brought me into Viacom, it was fun. Once that battle [over the merger of Viacom and CBS] began, it was no fun. I’ve been in constant litigation,” she said. “My legacy was to create security for my family and to put the company in good hands.”
Redstone’s tenure was defined by high-profile mergers and, ultimately, the wrenching decision to walk away. After Sumner Redstone’s death, her priorities shifted. “Once that happened, I wanted out,” she admitted. “I wanted to support Israel, and address issues around antisemitism and racism.” The sale to Skydance, which included $2.4 billion for the Redstone family’s controlling stake and delivered hundreds of millions more after regulatory approval, allowed her to step back and focus on causes close to her heart.
But the sale was only part of the story. Paramount’s final months under Redstone’s watch were overshadowed by a lawsuit from former President Donald Trump, who accused CBS’s 60 Minutes of deceptively editing an interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris during the heated 2024 presidential campaign. Trump alleged that the edits made Harris appear more coherent, potentially boosting her candidacy at his expense. When CBS refused to release the unedited footage, Trump filed a $20 billion lawsuit—a staggering figure that loomed over Paramount as it negotiated its future.
Redstone, who described herself as “blown away” by the relatively modest $16 million settlement that ultimately resolved the suit, insisted that settling was a “no-brainer.” “I believed it was always in Paramount’s best interest to settle,” she told The New York Times. “We may not like the world we live in, but a board has to do what’s in the best interest of shareholders.” She had expected the settlement price to be much higher, but ultimately recused herself from the settlement proceedings, trusting the board to do what was necessary. “My legacy was to create security for my family and to put the company in good hands,” she explained.
According to TheWrap, the $16 million settlement—finalized just before the FCC’s approval of the Skydance deal—was paid to Trump’s future presidential library. Yet, even as the dust settled, rumors swirled about a possible “side deal” between Trump and Paramount: some suggested that CBS had agreed to air up to $20 million in free conservative advertising and public service announcements under its new ownership. Redstone was quick to distance herself from such speculation. “I hope it isn’t true,” she said, echoing statements from Paramount’s board, which denied the existence of any such arrangement. Skydance, for its part, insisted it was not involved in settlement negotiations but stopped short of rejecting the reports outright.
Redstone’s decision to settle was driven by more than just the numbers. As The New York Times reported, she feared that Trump’s legal team might seize on another potential vulnerability: the editing of a 60 Minutes interview with President Joe Biden. CBS staffers had privately described Biden as “drowsy” and said he “had to be prodded to answer” during the October 2023 interview, which aired shortly after the Hamas attacks on Israel. While correspondent Scott Pelley attributed Biden’s demeanor to “a rough week” and noted the president’s lifelong stutter, Redstone worried that a lawsuit over the interview could unearth embarrassing raw footage and internal communications—damaging CBS News’s reputation far more than any settlement would. “This case was never as black-and-white as people assumed,” she told The New York Times, pushing back against mainstream media outlets that dismissed Trump’s claims as frivolous.
Redstone’s concerns extended beyond the courtroom. She was openly critical of what she saw as CBS’s anti-Israel bias, pointing to a January 2025 60 Minutes segment that relied on sources connected to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, whose executive director had praised Hamas’s October 7 attacks. “CBS needed more balance,” Redstone said, expressing frustration at the network’s editorial direction. In a moment of candor, she even mused, “Part of me thought, maybe Trump could accomplish what I never got done,” referring to efforts to correct what she saw as partisan slant in CBS’s coverage.
The sale of Paramount to Skydance marked the end of an era for the Redstone family. For Shari Redstone, it was a bittersweet farewell to a legacy built by her father and fiercely defended through years of corporate battles. The $8 billion deal—finalized on August 7, 2025—brought closure to a tumultuous chapter, even as it sparked new questions about the future of one of America’s most influential media companies.
For all the drama, Redstone’s final act was one of pragmatism. She prioritized the stability of her family and the interests of shareholders, even as she acknowledged the personal toll of years spent navigating lawsuits and boardroom intrigue. As she steps into a new phase of life, focused on philanthropy and advocacy, Redstone leaves behind a media landscape forever changed by her choices—and, perhaps, a few lingering mysteries about the deals struck in the shadows of power.
The saga of Paramount’s sale and the Trump lawsuit is a reminder that, in the world of media empires, the lines between business, politics, and personal conviction are seldom clear-cut. For Shari Redstone, the decision to walk away was both an end and a beginning, closing the book on one family dynasty while opening the door to new battles beyond the boardroom.
