Paramount controlling shareholder Shari Redstone diagnosed with thyroid cancer
Media mogul Shari Redstone, CBS parent Paramount's controlling shareholder, has been diagnosed with thyroid cancer.
"Shari Redstone was diagnosed with thyroid cancer earlier this spring. While it has been a challenging period, she is maintaining all professional and philanthropic activities throughout her treatment, which is ongoing. She and her family are grateful that her prognosis is excellent," Redstone’s spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
The 71-year-old has frequently been in the news this year as she seeks the Trump administration's approval of a multibillion-dollar planned merger with Skydance Media and has given lawyers the green light to settle President Donald Trump’s election interference lawsuit against CBS News, although no deal has been reached.
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Redstone wanted the opinion of doctors "about two months ago after experiencing fatigue and other symptoms," according to The New York Times, which first reported the diagnosis. She underwent surgery in May.
The Times noted that she was quickly diagnosed and surgeons removed her thyroid gland but were unable to remove all the cancer cells because they'd spread to her vocal cords.
Redstone controls more than three-quarters of Paramount’s Class A voting shares through National Amusements, the company she took control of in 2016 when her media mogul father, Sumner Redstone, was deemed too incapacitated to run the company. He died in 2020.
Redstone, who recused herself from settlement discussions related to the Trump lawsuit in February, isn’t thrilled with being tied up in litigation with the sitting president and wants to get things resolved.
Fox News Digital confirmed last week that Trump rejected a $15 million offer to settle his lawsuit. The talks are ongoing, but the president's legal team is demanding at least $25 million and an apology from CBS News. Many industry insiders believe the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will wait until the lawsuit is in the rearview mirror before deciding if the planned merger with Skydance Media will be approved.
Redstone is set for a significant windfall if she’s able to flip Paramount to Skydance. Bloomberg reported last year that she would receive $180 million in severance on top of the roughly $350 million she would pocket from the merger.
Skydance Media CEO David Ellison, who would take control of CBS as head of the newly formed Paramount Skydance Corp. if the merger is finalized, was aware of Redstone’s cancer diagnosis, according to the Times.