Skydance founder David Ellison has taken over as chairman and CEO of Paramount after the two companies merged in August, and is quickly shaping the new conglomerate in his vision. According to a report from Variety, part of this shakeup includes a hard line on what the company deems as antisemitism, with sources saying Paramount maintains a do-not-hire list for talent viewed as “overtly antisemitic.”
This stance does not come out of left field, as Paramount was the first major studio to publicly denounce a celebrity open letter signed by thousands of film and TV industry workers pledging to boycott Israeli film institutions they considered “complicit” with the “genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people.”
In a statement from chief communications officer Melissa Zukerman, Paramount said, “Silencing individual creative artists based on their nationality does not promote better understanding or advance the cause of peace… We need more engagement and communication — not less.”
Variety reports that it’s unclear whether Paramount’s do-not-hire list includes the letter’s 5,000-plus signatories or is focused on the pledge’s organizers. Sources said the list covers “overtly antisemitic” conduct, as well as “xenophobic” and “homophobic” behavior.
Ellison’s father, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, has close ties to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and has made substantial donations to Friends of the IDF. Recently appointed CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss is also a vocal Israel supporter, with staff sources telling Variety that an October round of layoffs “conspicuously” impacted some reporters with an “anti-Israel bent.” However, Paramount sources disputed political or gender motivations for the cuts.
Other sources expressed concern that the studio’s content could skew more outwardly conservative as Paramount cultivates closer ties to the Trump administration.
All of this comes as David Ellison pushes for “more content” by expanding Paramount’s theatrical slate from eight films per year to 15 by 2026, 17 by 2027, and 18 by 2028.
