Jeff Shell is out as president and a board member of Paramount Skydance, marking his second high-profile departure from a media company in three years.
The move comes as the company has been conducting an internal investigation into a lawsuit brought against the executive by whistleblower and Las Vegas gambler R.J. Cipriani.
Cipriani has accused Shell of failing to pay him for crisis communications services he allegedly provided to the executive. He also claimed that Shell disclosed material, non-public information to him, including details about Paramount’s $7.7 billion UFC media rights deal and its plans to sweeten its bid for Warner Bros. Discovery. Shell subsequently countersued and accused Cipriani of defamation and extortion and Cipriani responded by widening the scope of his lawsuit to include Paramount, its board of directors and the Ellison family.
In a statement, Paramount said that following a thorough review with independent counsel, the “facts demonstrated that these allegations do not establish a securities law violation.”
“Mr. Shell promptly notified [Paramount Skydance] of these accusations and is taking forceful legal action. [Paramount Skydance] and its named Board members will respond in the proceedings to the frivolous and baseless claims against [Paramount Skydance] and its named Board members and stockholders,” the statement continues. “Consistent with Mr. Shell’s commitment to prioritizing [Paramount Skydance]’s success, he has elected to transition from his positions as President of [Paramount Skydance] and a member of [Paramount Skydance]’s Board of Directors to focus on this lawsuit. [Paramount Skydance] is grateful for Mr. Shell’s many contributions and to have relied on him as a valued advisor.”
Cipriani is seeking at least $150 million in damages, while Shell is seeking an unspecified amount of compensation for all damages and losses caused by Cipriani’s accusations, as well as an “injunction restraining Cipriani from further defaming Shell.”
A spokesperson for Shell declined to comment.
Prior to being recruited by David Ellison, Shell was ousted from NBCUniversal in 2023 over allegations of sexual harassment from former CNBC correspondent Hadley Gamble, with whom he admitted to having an “inappropriate relationship.”
He would ultimately land at Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird Capital Partners, which helped fund Skydance’s $8 billion acquisition of Paramount and is backing the $47 billion in equity financing for Warner Bros. alongside the Ellison family. He would officially join the Paramount Skydance leadership team after the announcement of the merger in July 2024.
Shell’s departure comes as the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger is expected to close by the third quarter, subject to regulatory and shareholder approval. A shareholder vote is slated for April 23.
In the event the transaction does not close by Sept. 30, WBD shareholders will receive a 25 cent per share “ticking fee” for each quarter until closing. In the event that the deal does not close at all due to regulatory matters, Paramount will pay WBD a $7 billion termination fee.
