New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani criticized the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger after Monday’s settlement, calling the agreement a “shameful monument to corruption.”
“America is free only when the media is competitive, independent, and accountable to the people,” he wrote on X Tuesday afternoon. “This merger strikes a chilling blow against that freedom — and hands even more power to billionaires like David Ellison to decide what Americans see and hear, all while lifting scrutiny off the federal leaders who pushed it through.”
“This decision is a shameful monument to corruption and a betrayal that the American people won’t soon forget,” Mamdani added.
The settlement, revealed Monday, resolved antitrust lawsuits filed by 12 states, including California and New York, along with the Writers Guild of America, against Paramount Skydance, which is owned by Ellison. The agreement clears the path for the company’s $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, a deal expected to significantly reshape Hollywood.
Under the terms announced by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who led the state’s case, Paramount has agreed to release a set number of films each year, expand film production in the United States, honor union agreements protecting workers, and create a new editorial independence board to establish guiding editorial and journalism principles for CBS News and CNN.
Mamdani also thanked New York Attorney General Letitia James “for the protections she secured for workers.”
The mayor’s remarks followed a report from The Hollywood Reporter that divisions had emerged within the 12-state coalition before the settlement, with some states questioning whether to accept the agreement. New York was among the holdouts, along with Connecticut, Minnesota and Nevada.
After the settlement was announced, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said the state had pushed for a stronger remedy. “We wanted and demanded full divestiture of CNN and CBS News. We wanted to save ethical and independent journalism and news. We fought aggressively for that remedy. I am deeply disappointed that we could not do more,” he said.
James did not reject the agreement, saying in a statement that Paramount’s commitments would help the film and television industry “continue to thrive” through increased domestic movie production and $1.5 billion in new investment. She added that she had met with entertainment industry unions during the case and would continue monitoring Paramount’s compliance with the settlement and the law.