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 might be in need 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 email statement that CBS parent 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 wife Amal and their twin children had been awarded French citizenship.
Weiss’s clever troll of Clooney came in response to a magazine interview in 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 recently portrayed legendary CBS News anchor Edward R. Murrow in the Broadway version of “Good Night, and Good Luck,” having directed the award-winning film version years earlier.
“Bari Weiss is dismantling CBS News as we speak,” the Oscar winner told the Hollywood trade publication Variety, alleging that CBS and rival networks abandoned their duty by settling lawsuits with the president.
He said such moves have reshaped the American media landscape for the worse.
Earlier this month, Weiss came under scrutiny for yanking a “60 Minutes” segment on the CECOT prison in El Salvador, the notorious site where the Trump administration sent migrants suspected of committing crimes.
Clooney did not go into detail about his criticism of Weiss, issuing a blunt, top-line condemnation, instead.
The star said the network has failed the basic sense of responsibility Murrow embodied — holding power to account when the other branches of government fall short.
He argued that the rot became undeniable when CBS settled Trump’s lawsuit over a “60 Minutes” interview rather than fighting it — a move Clooney believes cleared the way for Paramount’s sale to Skydance earlier this year.
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 parent company Disney for setting a lawsuit brought 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 is far more alarmed by the alleged collapse of a “functioning press” than by turbulence in Hollywood or the film business.
The Post has sought comment from the White House, Clooney, ABC and Disney.
