California Attorney General Slams David Ellison’s Plan to Pull Paramount Out of the State as ‘Blackmail’ Attempt That ‘Won’t Work’

Getty Rob Bonta, the attorney general of California who is leading a 12-state coalition’s lawsuit seeking to block Paramount’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, responded to David Ellison‘s threat to pull Paramount out of the state unless Bonta agrees to settlement talks. “In a span of weeks, Paramount agreed to halt the merger until a court decision or until June 2027, asked for a November trial, and is now back with another attempt to blackmail the state into letting an illegal deal through,” Bonta wrote in a post on X. Bonta continued, “Paramount has lost the plot as it continues to lose in court. It didn’t work the first time — on the eve of our July lawsuit — and it won’t work this time.” Popular on Variety Ellison told Paramount senior execs last week that, while he is confident the company will prevail in court against the states’ antitrust lawsuit, he’s prepared to relocate Paramount (as well as Warner Bros. if the merger successfully closes) unless Bonta agrees to negotiate a settlement. Ellison said the company will begin the process of exiting California starting Oct. 1 in the event that such talks have not started, and he told his team the Paramount Skydance board has approved the move. More to come More from Variety