ICYMI: Booker Holds Forum on Risks of Paramount–Skydance / Warner Bros. Discovery Merger Ahead of Shareholder Vote

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In case you missed it, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, convened a shadow hearing this week examining the proposed Paramount-Skydance acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. At the hearing, Booker heard from acclaimed actor Mark Ruffalo; Academy Award-winning filmmaker David Borenstein; Director of Legal Services at the Writers Guild Michael Isaac; attorney and journalist Katie Phang; and Co-founder and Executive Director of the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund Mara Verheyden-Hilliard. Each of the witnesses warned that the merger would put "tens of thousands of media professionals at risk of losing their jobs" and poses a "threat to democracy itself."

SEE FOR YOURSELF:

The Wrap
Mark Ruffalo Slams Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger as Threat to "Democracy Itself" at Senate Hearing: "Driven by Greed"
April 16, 2026
By: Jacob Bryant

• Mark Ruffalo: "Don't trust that this new company will somehow make more films with less money and so much more debt."

VARIETY
Mark Ruffalo Blasts Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger at Senate Hearing: "Don't Trust Empty Promises from Billionaires"
April 15, 2026
By: Todd Spangler

• Mark Ruffalo: "We do not have to watch Citizen Kane or read 1984 to understand that the concentrated oligarchic control this merger represents is a threat to a free press, an informed populace, and democracy itself."
• Mark Ruffalo: "Tens of thousands of media professionals will be at risk of losing their jobs as the Ellisons and their Middle Eastern investment partners-the sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi-try to squeeze every penny out of this massive entity."

@MorePerfectUS
Mark Ruffalo testifying at a hearing on the Paramount-WBD merger called by Cory Booker
April 15, 2026
By: More Perfect Union

• Mark Ruffalo: "Don't trust empty promises from billionaires driven by greed and corrosive ideology."

@markruffalo
"Wow. David Borenstein calls out the 'Melania' so-called documentary for what it is: political bribery hiding in plain sight."
April 15, 2026
By: Mark Ruffalo

• David Borenstein: "The political influence creeping into the industry is already undeniable. A Warner Bros. Discovery-Paramount merger would supercharge it-paving the way for more projects like 'Melania,' where storytelling is bent to serve those in power."

@artcandee
MeidasTouch Network host Katie Phang testifies in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on the proposed merger of Paramount-Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery
April 15, 2026
By: Art Candee

• Katie Phang: "Democracy cannot survive if powerful people get to decide which facts are allowed to exist and what version of the truth they want to peddle for profit."

SEE ALSO:

• Booker Holds Forum on Risks of Paramount-Skydance / Warner Bros. Discovery Merger Ahead of Shareholder Vote