Block The Merger Coalition Slams AG Settlement Of Paramount-WBD Lawsuit; Mark Ruffalo Says Gavin Newsom Handed A “Huge Win To Trump”

The primary group mobilizing opposition to the Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery merger condemned the state attorneys general settlement of their antitrust lawsuit to block the transaction.

Just minutes before California Attorney General Rob Bonta was to appear at a press conference to announce the details of the settlement, the Block the Merger Coalition put out a statement calling the proposed resolution “a bad deal for the future of film, entertainment, independent journalism, and a strong democracy in this country.”

“We are disappointed and angry that the interests of average Americans have been trampled to benefit oligarch billionaires,” the group said.

In addition to demonstrations and online campaigns, the coalition helped organize an open letter of industry professionals opposing the transaction, including JJ Abrams, Damon Lindelof, David Fincher and Denis Villeneuve.

The coalition said in the statement, “The Ellisons and other forces arrayed against us, but that didn’t stop us and so many others from standing up. We are proud of what we accomplished, and together, our coalition will keep fighting. From the thousands of leaders in the film and entertainment industry and elected officials, to the hundreds of thousands who joined them to make their voices heard, even in the face of potential retaliation, this was a grassroots movement that proved Americans are not going to take this corruption anymore. That energy is not going away.”

“This isn’t the last we will hear of the Ellisons or the fallout of this merger – and it’s not the last you will hear from us. Block the Merger was never just about one merger, but about the harms of media consolidation and promoting a diversity of voices.”

Mark Ruffalo, a prominent opponent of the merger, weighed in on X earlier on Monday. “Gavin Newsom hands huge win to Trump and his billionaire cronies,” he wrote, referring to the governor’s involvement in reaching a settlement.

The coalition included more than a dozen groups, including Free Press, the American Economic Liberties Project, Democracy Defenders Fund and the Future Film Coalition.