What Is the Donald Trump Paramount Connection? What’s Behind Stephen Colbert’s Kiss Cam Jab to the Prez?

Published 07/22/2025, 9:21 AM EDT

Power struggles, courtroom theatrics, and media mayhem collide in a spectacle only America could stage. Donald Trump, never one for understatement, remains the lightning rod at the center of relentless commentary. Meanwhile, Stephen Colbert, a master of televised wit, finds himself both mocker and muse, trading zingers with a man who tweets in thunderclaps. As The Late Show meets its curtain call, the irony grows richer. It is not governance, it is vaudeville in a blazer. And Colbert's latest jab at Trump has raised fans' curiosity.

Fans are buzzing with questions: what links Donald Trump to Paramount, and why did Stephen Colbert’s kiss cam jab feel more like a pointed message than a punchline?

Donald Trump, Paramount whispers, and Stephen Colbert’s mic-drop moment

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Donald Trump’s clash with Paramount spiraled into a full-blown corporate firestorm, triggered by a disputed 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris. After months of legal wrangling and high-stakes boardroom drama, Paramount ultimately agreed to pay $16 million to settle the lawsuit, miles short of Trump’s staggering $20 billion demand. During an episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the host seized the moment for one final jab. In a parody segment spoofing Coldplay’s infamous kiss cam moment, Colbert roasted both Trump and Paramount. During a parody kiss cam bit, the screen showed a cartoon of Donald Trump embracing, then ditching, the Paramount logo.

In the episode, Stephen Colbert was joined by late-night allies including Jimmy Fallon, Jon Stewart, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver. Celebrities like Anderson Cooper and Adam Sandler appeared too. With the kiss cam moment now going viral, many fans are still asking, what exactly happened?

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At Coldplay’s concert, while the band serenaded fans with soulful ballads, the kiss cam stole the spotlight, unleashing a wave of NDA-breaking drama and the year's juiciest viral controversy.

When Coldplay played, the kiss cam stirred trouble no love song could fix

Coldplay frontman Chris Martin stole the show, not with vocals, but with his hilarious reaction after the kiss cam caught what looked like an awkward office romance unfolding mid-concert. The camera landed on Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and HR chief Kristin Cabot, seated far too close for comfort. She buried her face, and he vanished below the frame like a startled quarterback. Chris Martin quipped, “Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy,” and the clip exploded online.

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Within hours, the internet did what it does best: dig deep, speculate wildly, and then broadcast it all. Online detectives quickly identified the mystery pair as Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and HR head Kristin Cabot. The viral footage, originally shared by Grace Springer, was captured on a whim in case her friends appeared onscreen. Since then, the clip has exploded into a meme-fueled frenzy so intense, even Donald Trump has not escaped the fallout, nor Stephen Colbert’s final punchline.

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What do you think about Donald Trump's connection to Paramount and Stephen Colbert’s jab? Let us know in the comments below.

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Yusra Miraj Khan

739 articles

Yusra Miraj Khan is an Entertainment Journalist at Netflix Junkie. Specializing in Taylor Swift and the British Royal Family, she transforms modern mythologies into high-ranking, reader-first narratives. Since joining in early 2025, Khan has penned over 500 articles, known for their sharp decoding of Easter eggs and PR silences.

Edited By: Hriddhi Maitra

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