Hollywood figures urge California AG to block Paramount-Warner merger settlement
Actor Mark Ruffalo and a coalition of industry groups are pressuring Attorney General Rob Bonta to reject a proposed settlement that could allow Paramount Skydance’s $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery to proceed.
Actor and producer Mark Ruffalo posted on X urging California Attorney General Rob Bonta not to approve any settlement that would clear the way for Paramount Skydance’s $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. Ruffalo said thousands of filmmakers have publicly opposed the deal and that more than 75,000 people have signed a petition addressed to state attorneys general.
The petition calls on the AGs to reject the settlement and block the merger outright. The Block the Merger Coalition, which includes industry leaders and Senator Elizabeth Warren, warned that a settlement based on unenforceable concessions would benefit Paramount’s CEO David Ellison without providing real protections for opponents.
Bonta and 11 other state attorneys general are in negotiations with Ellison over an antitrust lawsuit that could otherwise go to trial in March 2027. A settlement could avoid that trial, but critics argue it may lack enforceable safeguards.
Paramount faces a daily “ticking fee” of $7 million if the transaction is delayed beyond September 30 and has suggested it could relocate operations out of California, with potential job losses estimated at up to 58,000 in Los Angeles.