Bribes, Betrayals, and a Black Eye for Democracy: F*ck Paramount

I canceled my subscription to Paramount Plus today.

Not because the content isn’t good — I love Star Trek. But because I won’t support a conglomerate that has chosen political expedience over principle, corporate access over constitutional values, and submission over integrity.

In recent weeks, reports surfaced that Paramount paid a $16 million settlement to Donald Trump. The company hasn’t disclosed the exact reason, and no direct line has been officially drawn between that payment and their bid to complete a high-stakes merger. But let’s not play dumb. Common sense suggests exactly what this was: a bribe to smooth the rails.

And as with any deal made with a bully, it didn’t end there.

Trump almost surely demanded the firing of Stephen Colbert, one of the few mainstream voices left willing to call out fascist absurdity and autocratic ambition with wit and moral clarity. And CBS folded. Whether out of fear or calculation, they did what no free institution should ever do: they silenced dissent to appease power.

But the rot didn’t begin with Colbert’s ousting.

Earlier this year, top figures at CBS News — people with long histories in journalism (like Wendy McMahon and Bill Owens)— resigned in disgust. Why? Because CBS leadership told them to go easier on Trump. To pull their punches. To accommodate lies, soften their scrutiny, and serve something other than the public interest.

This is what autocracy looks like in its American form. Not tanks in the streets — but corporations bowing to political demands, media executives pre-clearing coverage, and truth itself becoming negotiable.

Star Trek, the flagship of Paramount’s own brand, taught us to resist this. The Federation wasn’t perfect, but it stood for something: free expression, ethical debate, the courage to challenge power. Kirk didn’t take orders from tyrants. Picard didn’t cut deals with fascists. Janeway didn’t fire her crew to get a better merger.

If you want to know what voting looks like outside of November, this is it.

Today, I voted with my wallet. I canceled Paramount Plus. I refuse to fund a media empire that sells out its own values and ours.

So fuck Paramount and fuck CBS for the cowards they are.