The lawsuit alleges that Paramount Skydance’s planned purchase of Warner Bros Discovery is based on an illegal arrangement with Donald Trump. The lawsuit alleges that Trump’s lawsuit against CNN, which is owned by WBD, could be used to “improperly funnel money” to the president. It also alleges that CNN executives disliked by Trump could be replaced after a takeover.
Larry Ellison, who is financing the deal, is singled out as a central player. The lawsuit claims that Paramount's management put private interests ahead of shareholders’ best interests, while Paramount denies the allegations and says the merger is commercially motivated.
Trump connections
The new lawsuit comes just days after 12 Democratic state attorneys general filed a federal lawsuit alleging that the deal would give Paramount-WBD too much power over the film, television and streaming markets. The writers' union WGA is also suing to block the merger on antitrust and labour law grounds.
Since Paramount Global merged with Skydance in August 2025, the company has made several major deals, including the broadcast rights to the MMA organisation UFC – which attracted attention because Trump has long had a close relationship with the UFC and its CEO Dana White. The acquisition of the media company The Free Press also led to controversy when its former head Bari Weiss was appointed the new editor-in-chief of Paramount-owned CBS News.
Argument over “60 Minutes”
Weiss replaced the management of the long-running news programme "60 Minutes" and received harsh criticism for her new editorial guidelines. Among other things, Weiss postponed a "60 Minutes" feature on the Trump administration's deportations to El Salvador, which critics within the editorial team described as political interference, while Weiss cited journalistic requirements.
