Hollywood saw dueling demonstrations Thursday as groups with opposing views on the potential Paramount-Warner Bros. merger rallied outside the studio's iconic arches. The day's events also featured a plane flying a profane banner targeting David Ellison, CEO of the company seeking to acquire Paramount.
A group called Neighbors for Strong Communities, which a New York Post report suggested may be a front for the Ellison family, had organized a rally to advocate for the merger. However, organizers abruptly moved their event to a nearby sound stage at BLT Studios after learning a counter-protest was planned for the same location.
Inside the sparsely attended studio event, a dozen attendees, including actors and below-the-line workers, voiced concerns about Ellison's potential to relocate operations out of California and the subsequent job losses. Dani Kelly, who runs a podcast studio in Chatsworth, stated, "I need people in the industry here… I will have no business."
Roger Neal, a publicist associated with Neighbors for Strong Communities, denied any connection to Paramount or the Ellisons, characterizing the group's campaign as an effort to encourage a settlement by pushing California Attorney General Rob Bonta to drop his antitrust lawsuit against the deal. He told Page Six Hollywood that the venue change was to avoid a protest.
The counter-protest, organized by a group called Free Press, drew about 15 workers and supporters of efforts to block the merger. Speakers at this rally included actress Alyssa Phillips and Burbank city council members Nikki Perez and Konstantine Anthony. Free Press co-CEO Jessica Gonzalez stated that their event was a response to the pro-merger rally.
Adding to the day's spectacle, an airplane circled above Paramount Studios for much of the morning, displaying a banner that read: "Ellison is Trump’s Bitch." Photos of the banner quickly circulated on social media, becoming a focal point of discussion.
The split demonstrations and the provocative aerial display underscored a growing fatigue and division surrounding the ongoing merger discussions, with the day's events collectively described as accomplishing nothing substantial.