Rosie O’Donnell Sounds Off on David Ellison’s Potential CNN Takeover, Calling It a Tragedy in the Making
Hollywood’s relationship with cable news has grown increasingly tangled this year, as media conglomerates jockey for control of some of America’s most recognizable newsrooms. Rosie O’Donnell, never one to stay quiet on industry shakeups, found herself back in the spotlight this week while filling in as guest host of ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’.
The comedian has spent much of the year watching the fallout at CBS News, where editor-in-chief Bari Weiss has overseen a dramatic overhaul since being installed in the role in October 2025 following the company’s merger with Skydance. That shakeup has included high-profile departures, with longtime correspondents and producers ousted from ’60 Minutes’ earlier this year and Anderson Cooper more recently confirming he was leaving the program after nearly two decades on air.
Now O’Donnell is turning her attention to what could come next. Speaking with Variety, she addressed the prospect of Paramount Skydance owner David Ellison expanding his reach to CNN through a proposed takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, warning that it would be like Fox taking over all news channels and calling the situation with the Ellisons tragic.
She didn’t stop there, pointing directly at the turmoil inside CBS News as a preview of what could happen to CNN. O’Donnell brought up the 60 Minutes shakeup and Bari Weiss by name, saying she didn’t understand how Weiss could live with herself and warning that anyone sidling up to Ellison would be remembered by history, comparing the situation to sitting at a table with ten Nazis and not being the one exception.
The deal she’s reacting to is no small transaction. Ellison’s bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns both CNN and HBO, has been reportedly valued at $111 billion, and it comes on the heels of his earlier Paramount-Skydance merger that already drew regulatory scrutiny. A federal judge has temporarily halted the Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery merger, leaving its fate tied up in an ongoing legal fight.
Ellison himself has pushed back on the narrative that his politics or connections should disqualify him from overseeing CNN. In a New York Times guest essay, he argued that the true fight over the merger centers on whether he can be trusted as a steward of Warner’s CNN, addressing speculation about his loyalties and intentions head on.
O’Donnell’s comments add to a growing list of entertainment figures who have publicly criticized the direction of these media mergers, joining voices like John Oliver in questioning what happens when a handful of executives control the flow of American news. Whether the Warner Bros. Discovery deal ultimately closes remains uncertain as the legal battle plays out.
Do you think Rosie O’Donnell’s warning about a Fox style takeover of CNN is fair, or is she jumping the gun before the merger even closes?
