Jane Fonda hyped the Paramount-Warner Bros. deal by walking the red carpet at Vanity Fair’s Oscar party after the Oscar ceremony wearing an “anti-merger” pin. Two-time Oscar winner Fonda has been adamantly opposed to Paramount’s takeover of Warner Bros., and her decision to speak out after the Oscars ceremony is all the more remarkable given that Warner Bros. tied the record for most wins by a studio in a single night at the Academy Awards with 11 wins.
“We have to try. Mergers are bad for workers. A lot of people are going to lose their jobs,” Fonda told Variety’s Marc Malkin about wearing an “anti-merger” pin. “Our prices are going to go up. We’re going to have political control over what we do. That’s why Mr. Hegseth said, “CNN can’t come under Paramount’s control anytime soon.”
Fonda was referring to a March 13 press conference in which Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said, “The sooner David Ellison takes over, the better.” (CNN)
“We know Trump wants to hurt…I mean, I slept with the guy who created it! I have a personal stake in it,” Fonda further added about CNN, referring to her 10-year marriage to network founder Ted Turner. “[CNN]didn’t take a stand. They reported the news. To see what’s going on now… we have to stop[it]… This pin is any merger, but the Paramount merger is really problematic. In order to get permission to merge, they felt they had to bow to Trump’s demands. But we’re going to win.”
Warner Bros. was behind the two biggest Oscar winners of the year, Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” (which won six times, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actor) and Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” (which won four times, including Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay). The studio was also home to “Weapons,” where Amy Madigan won the trophy for Best Supporting Actress.
