Shari Redstone says CBS executives made a “bad mistake” in handling the fallout from the Ta-Nehisi Coates interview

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Shari Redstone, the chairman of CBS parent company Paramount Global, said Wednesday that CBS leadership made a “grave mistake” in handling “CBS Mornings” co-host Tony Dokoupil's controversial interview last week Author Ta-Nehisi Coates dealt with it.

In stark contrast to what CBS editorial board told employees Monday, Redstone said she did not believe Dokoupil violated the network's editorial standards when he questioned Coates about the content of his new book.

“I think Tony did a great job on this interview,” Redstone said Wednesday during a panel discussion at Advertising Week New York. “I think he got a hold of himself and showed and modeled to the world what civil discourse is. He showed that there is responsibility, that there is a system of checks and balances, and frankly I was very proud of the work he did.”

Redstone said she expressed her support directly to Dokoupil and was “very happy” that CBS had Coates on the network's morning show to talk about his new book, “The Message.”

“But we also have to give him the opportunity to challenge him with his words, just like we challenge everyone else,” Redstone said.

Coates, a National Book Award winner, published “The Message” last week, in which he portrays Israel's treatment of the Palestinians as a moral crime that many Americans cannot or will not confront head-on.

During a daily editorial meeting Monday, CBS News executives said Dokoupil violated the network's editorial standards during the Coates interview, in which the anchor compared the book to “extremist” writings and accused Coates of excluding the Israeli perspective in his book .

“I have to say, when I read the book, I imagine if I took your name out, took the awards, the acclaim, took the cover away from the book, the publisher disappeared, the contents of that section wouldn't disappear in the backpack of an extremist is out of place,” Dokoupil told Coates.

On Wednesday, Redstone said network executives made a “grave mistake” in how they handled the resulting controversy over the interview.

“I worked with the CEOs. I worked with the woman who does a lot of our diversity training and I think we all agree that this wasn't handled properly and we all agree that something needs to be done,” Redstone said.

Redstone has long been a supporter of Israel and has worked to combat anti-Semitism over the past year.

“People need to understand the core issues and know what they are talking about. We need better education on how to challenge people in a civil way, which, frankly, I think Tony did,” Redstone said at the event. “Above all, we need standards that apply to everyone on all issues. You cannot have one standard for someone who holds a position and another standard for someone who holds a certain position has a different position.”

The Sept. 30 interview had sparked internal complaints, prompting Wendy McMahon, president and CEO of CBS News and Stations, and her top deputy, Adrienne Roark, to order the network's standards and practices department to conduct a review of the discussion . The news department's race and culture division was also involved.

A person familiar with CBS's review told CNN the issue was “handled respectfully.”

“This issue was hot-button and there were many, many people in the organization who were concerned about how this interview was handled,” the person said.

In a statement Wednesday afternoon, CBS President and CEO George Cheeks expressed support for McMahon's decision to conduct a review, calling her an “outstanding, accomplished leader.”

“There were strong and growing disagreements within CBS News that needed to be addressed in an editorial meeting. This must lead to further substantive dialogue about perceptions of inconsistent treatment, implicit bias and the important standards of our newsroom to set guardrails for fairness and objectivity,” Cheeks said.

“To be clear, this was never about CBS News’ right to ask the hard question; that is and remains the standard. Our hosts and correspondents will continue to ask the toughest questions on the most important and complex issues,” he added.

The person familiar with the review said several correspondents and producers expressed concern about Dokoupil's behavior on numerous occasions following the Coates interview.

“It's clear that this was an issue that required a process and serious conversations and serious reviews, and that's exactly what happened,” the person added.

During a staff meeting on “CBS Mornings” on Tuesday, Dokoupil stood by his questioning of Coates, a person close to the show told CNN. The person said that despite Redstone's comments, he believes the situation is “calming down” and that “after some important conversations” they are “ready to move forward again as a team.”

This story has been updated with additional reporting and context.