The chair of Paramount Global, Shari Redstone, is backing CBS Mornings co-host Tony Dokoupil after a contentious interview last week with author Ta-Nehisi Coates.

I frankly think Tony did a great job with that interview, Redstone said on Wednesday. I was very proud of the work that he did. Yes, as hard as it was for me to go against this company, I think they made a mistake here.

I just want to be clear that Ive been working with the CEOs, the mogul elaborated. Ive been working with the woman who does a lot of our diversity training, and I think we all agree that this was not handled correctly, and we all agree that something needs to be done. I dont have, you know, editorial control. I am not an executive, but I have a voice in our platform, like all of us. The comments from Redstone come after CBS Mornings co-anchor Tony Dokoupil is said to have discussed the matter with his CBS News colleagues. It is not immediately clear what Dokoupil said.

The interview was about Coates new bookThe Message, which passionately argues that Israels treatment of Palestinians is immoral and should be condemned.

Dokoupil asked pointed questions of Coates like, Why leave out that Israel is surrounded by countries that want to eliminate it?and comments like, I have to say, when I read the book, I imagine if I took your name out of it, took away the awards, the acclaim the content of that section would not be out of place in the backpack of an extremist.

It also ended on an awkward note with an apparent joke about inviting Coates to the High Holidays (Rosh Hashanah was last week, and Yom Kippur is later this week).

The tone of Dokoupils interview was what led to the response from CBS News chief Wendy McMahon and Adrienne Roark, who heads newsgathering. The executives told CBS staff that the interview did not meet the networks editorial standards.

The comments from Redstone came during a panel at Advertising Week specifically focused on using engaging content to fight hate. Redstone was joined on the panel by ATTN co-CEO Matthew Segal. Axios reporter Sara Fischer moderated the discussion.

In fact, Dokoupils interview with Coates interview reverberated throughout CBS News, not surprisingly given the strong emotional responses stirred by anything that touches the nature of Israel and Palestine. Some internally took issue with Dokoupils questioning, while others felt that most of the questions were OK, but the tone and framing went too far. Others felt that Dokoupil did nothing wrong, and his questions and tone were acceptable.

That included CBS News legal correspondent Jan Crawford, who took issue with the decision to call out Dokoupil in the staff meeting Monday.

I thought our commitment was to truth. And when someone comes on our air with a one-sided account of a very complex situation, as Coates himself acknowledges that he has, its my understanding that as journalists we are obligated to challenge that worldview so that our viewers can have that access to the truth or a fuller account, a more balanced account, Crawford said. And, to me, that is what Tony did.

In an interview with Trevor Noah, Coates said that he felt more for Dokoupils colleagues Gayle King and Nate Burleson, who were shut out of the conversation.

Dokoupil probably did me a service by just kind of commandeering that interview, I dont think he did Nate and Gayle a service, and Im really, really sorry for them, Coates said. I figured at some point it was gonna be a fight. You know, I didnt know it was gonna be right then, but I figured at some point it was gonna be a fight.