Actor Rob Schneider, the former “Saturday Night Live” star and outspoken supporter of President-elect Donald Trump, wants the billionaire owner of the Los Angeles Times to fund a talk show to rival “The View” that would appeal to conservatives , according to a report.
The “Deuce Bigelow, Male Gigolo” star met with Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong to the El Segundo newspaper offices last month to pitch him the idea, Oliver Darcy reported in his Status newsletter.
Schneider was joined by Curb Your Enthusiasm star Cheryl Hines, who is married to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, the report added.
Soon-Shiong — who blocked the paper from endorsing Kamala Harris — invited the duo because he wanted to give them a tour of the newsroom as well as highlight the paper’s video capabilities, Status reported.
It was during the tour that Schneider reportedly pitched Soon-Shiong to create a conservative alternative to ABC’s left-wing gabfest with Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg and Sunny Host.
A spokesperson for Schneider confirmed that the comedian met with Soon-Shiong.
“Rob had a great meeting with Mr. Soon-Shiong and liked the new direction the LA Times is taking,” the rep said.
The spokesman declined to say whether the two discussed teaming up on a show.
The Post has sought comment from the LA Times and Hines.
According to Status, the sight of Schneider, Hines — an avowed liberal — and Soon-Shiong walking through the Times offices left employees “confused.”
When rumors spread inside the newsroom that the Times might be involved in a partnership with Schneider, some reporters were understandably alarmed by the notion, Darcy wrote in Status.
Schneider’s alleged statement comes after The Post exclusively reported that executives at parent company ABC Disney were in “panic mode” to find conservative voices to balance the largely anti-Trump opinions expressed on the show after the election.
Last month, Schneider told Fox News that he was launching a women’s talk show for his new media company, No Apologies Media, that would serve as an alternative to “The View.”
“It will be the opposite because this will be fun. It will be funny,” he said.
Schneider hasn’t been shy about voicing his endorsement of Soon-Shiong, who angered thousands of his readers as well as some of his editorial board members and editorial staff with his decision to kill the endorsement for Harris just a week ago November 5 elections.
On his X account, Schneider wrote last month: “Guess what?! It’s okay to buy [Los Angeles Times] again… You’ll see WHY SOON?!”
The caption was posted above a photo in which Schneider is seen reading a copy of the broadsheet.
Schneider — who has been critical of COVID-19 lockdown measures and vaccines — wrote a follow-up post that read: “Congratulations to [Soon-Shiong] to do [the Los Angeles Times] again a newspaper for ALL CALIFORNIANS! I look forward to ALL your new projects!”
The post was punctuated with an emoji of a smiley face with one eye winking.
Soon-Shiong, the South African-born billionaire who made his fortune in medicine and biotechnology, has sought to diversify his newspaper’s editorial board by adding Scott Jennings, a frequent Times contributor.
Last month, Darcy reported in Status that Soon-Shiong told editorial board members to “take a break from writing about” Trump.
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