Skydance Media, the entertainment company poised to acquire Paramount in an $8 billion deal, pledged on Tuesday that Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policies will have no place in the proposed merger as it looks to secure approval from the Trump administration.
In a letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr, a representative for Skydance committed to dismantling all DEI programs and practices at Paramount. The letter cites President Donald Trump’s January executive order, which directs all federal agencies to “enforce our long-standing civil-rights laws and to combat illegal private-sector DEI preferences, mandates, policies, programs, and activities.”
Paramount and its subsidiary CBS News agreed to terminate their DEI initiatives earlier this year, following the executive order and a lawsuit filed by a former employee who claimed the companies had engaged in unlawful discrimination. The companies agreed to settle the lawsuit, in which the plaintiff alleged to have been repeatedly passed over for promotions in favor of less-experienced candidates from minority groups.
The FCC filing states that several DEI practices have been eliminated including setting “aspirational goals related to hiring female employees and employees of color,” awarding annual bonuses based partly on “progress against DEI goals,” establishing minimum spend requirements for “diverse” suppliers and vendors and maintaining an Office of Global Inclusion focused on promoting DEI within the company.
“The company is committed to ensuring that its storytelling reflects the many audiences and communities it serves in a manner that complies with non-discrimination requirements and other applicable laws,” Skydance general counsel Stephanie Kyoko McKinnon wrote.
Other major corporations have made similar moves in response to the Trump administration’s policies. In early July, T-Mobile announced that it would “no longer have any individual roles or teams focused on DEI,” while Verizon said in May that it was scrapping its DEI programs.
Beyond eliminating DEI programs, Skydance also committed to promoting “unbiased journalism” and a “diverse array of viewpoints on television” under the new merger. Paramount agreed to pay a total of $36 million to President Donald Trump after the president sued CBS for allegedly manipulating former Vice President Kamala Harris’ interview with “60 Minutes” several weeks before the 2024 election.
Skydance further agreed to establish an ombudsman position for a minimum of two years to review any complaints of bias related to CBS reporting.
“After consummation of the proposed transaction, New Paramount’s new management will ensure that the company’s array of news and entertainment programming embodies a diversity of viewpoints across the political and ideological spectrum, consistent with the varying perspectives of the viewing audience,” McKinnon wrote.
Paramount did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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