Jane Fonda used a New York City First Amendment event to denounce Paramount Skydance’s $111 billion bid to take control of Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent of CNN. Speaking as someone who says she has a “personal stake” in the network, Fonda urged supporters
Jane Fonda didn’t wait for the lawyers to start talking.
On Sunday in New York City. at “Rise Up. Sing Out: A Concert For The First Amendment. ” she stepped to a crowd to argue that the fight over Paramount Skydance’s proposed takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery is, at its core, a fight over speech itself. “I have a personal stake in CNN. ” Fonda said. adding that she is “once married to late CNN founder Ted Turner.”.
She urged people to sign a petition calling on state attorneys general to investigate and block the merger, warning the outcome would remake the network’s tone in ways critics say they’ve already seen elsewhere. “I don’t want to see it go that way. You know what I’m saying?” she said.
Moments earlier, Fonda pressed the room to back that effort publicly. The petition was supported by 1,000 people in the film and television industry, according to the Writers Guild of America West.
Then she delivered the accusation with a bluntness that landed in the language of the First Amendment event itself. “This is a direct attack on free speech, freedom of expression,” Fonda said of Paramount’s $111 billion bid to take control of CNN’s parent company.
Her message didn’t stop at principle. She tied the proposed merger to a practical cost and a cultural change critics fear will follow a consolidation of power in media. “You’re going to have to pay more if this merger comes through. and you’re going to get a very thinned-out kind of culture. It’ll be flattened. Freedom of expression, independence and diverse news,” she said.
Fonda’s remarks came just days after the Justice Department approved the bid. The deal is led by Donald Trump-aligned CEO David Ellison. and both sides appear to be pressing for speed—Ellison has reportedly told investors the company is looking to close by September. Even as that timeline is floated, legal challenges remain a live possibility.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) stressed that the proposed merger remains under investigation by the California Department of Justice, underscoring that approval at the federal level hasn’t ended the state-level fight.
Critics of the merger also point to political leverage they believe can shape coverage. including changes they have slammed at CBS News under Paramount. Fonda didn’t name the specific cases. but her warning about what viewers could get—“thinned-out” and “flattened” expression—tracked the concern that a ownership shift could alter how news is framed.
Paramount has also been under scrutiny over decisions critics say intersect with politics. The company has faced questions for canceling “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. ” a move opponents suspect was driven by political pressure even though the company has insisted it was “purely” due to financial reasons.
The battle over the merger is playing out alongside another highly visible moment tied to Paramount’s media footprint. Sunday’s event served as counter-programming to President Donald Trump’s UFC birthday brawl at the White House, which aired on Paramount’s streaming service.
Fonda wasn’t alone on stage. The First Amendment concert was presented by the Committee For The First Amendment, and she joined other stars including Julia Roberts, Robert De Niro and Bette Midler.
Outside the venue, the deal’s endgame still depends on courts and regulators. The Justice Department’s approval doesn’t resolve the state investigations, and officials in the United Kingdom and the European Union are reportedly still reviewing the proposed merger.
For Fonda and her supporters, the timing is the point: the federal nod has moved the transaction forward, but she used the Sunday spotlight to press back before a merger’s power is locked in—arguing that once coverage changes, free expression isn’t something you can reverse.
Jane Fonda Paramount Skydance Warner Bros. Discovery CNN free speech First Amendment Justice Department approval David Ellison Rob Bonta California Department of Justice merger petition Writers Guild of America West Stephen Colbert