Jane Fonda‘s Committee for the First Amendment released a political sketch Monday satirically imagining what CNN might look like if Paramount’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. goes through, calling it “Pete Hegseth’s dream.”
Actors Harry Hamlin, Natalie Morales, Khary Payton, Milana Vayntrub and Mary Elizabeth Ellis co-star with Fonda in the sketch. The video, which was shared on the committee’s Instagram page, features Fonda as the only member of a broadcasting team for a CNN-like network renamed “Paramount News” that does not want to bow down to her Trump-friendly corporate overlords’ new scripts.
Protests in the street are reframed as “parties,” while Payton’s weatherman cheerfully reports on global warming, remarking, “The globe is getting warmer, and who doesn’t love warm weather?” Vayntrub’s financial reporter says simply that “the economy is great” as Fonda’s increasingly frazzled news anchor exclaims, “This is insane! What has happened to this network?”
“This is wrong! I’m not gonna work at a company like this,” Fonda says, starting a rant that is interrupted by Ellis, who rolls her away and takes her seat, joking, “Angry women! So unattractive!” You can watch the full sketch yourself below.
“Is this what the Trump Administration means when they say the sooner David Ellison owns CNN, the better?” the Committee for the First Amendment wrote in the sketch’s caption on Instagram. “Here’s the thing: The Paramount-WBD merger is NOT a done deal. More than 4,000 creatives and industry workers have signed on to oppose it, and State AGs are investigating and could sue to block it.”
“This is Pete Hegseth’s dream for CNN — and join us in saying: HELL NO,” the caption concludes.
The video’s posting comes as concerns continue to mount both within and outside of Hollywood about the implications of the David Ellison-run Paramount purchasing Warner Bros. Discovery. Not only have many voiced their unease with how Paramount might impact CNN’s reporting, but also how the studio will handle the Warner Bros. lot, film and TV library and its other assets.
Last week, over 2,000 entertainment industry figures signed an open letter denouncing the potential Paramount-Warner Bros. merger. As of this writing, the letter’s signatories include Pedro Pascal, Florence Pugh, Edward Norton, J.J. Abrams, David Fincher, Jason Bateman, Kristen Stewart, Emma Thompson, Damon Lindelof, Noah Wyle and Denis Villeneuve, among others.
“We are deeply concerned by indications of support for this merger that prioritize the interests of a small group of powerful stakeholders over the broader public good,” the open letter states. “The integrity, independence, and diversity of our industry would be grievously compromised. Competition is essential for a healthy economy and a healthy democracy. So is thoughtful regulation and enforcement.”
“This transaction would further consolidate an already concentrated media landscape,” the letter continues. “The result will be fewer opportunities for creators, fewer jobs across the production ecosystem, higher costs, and less choice for audiences in the United States and around the world.”
