Jane Fonda used a Venice Film Festival honor to attack the Skydance-Paramount merger, arguing the Ellison family's debt load will push costs onto consumers and eliminate thousands of jobs while concentrating creative leverage. The 88-year-old actor spoke Thursday at the DVF Awards gala, where she was being honored alongside Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley and other women.
The debt argument
Fonda said the Ellisons are carrying heavy obligations that are being deferred, creating pressure for large future payments. She argued the combination would raise prices for consumers and cut thousands of positions across the entertainment industry. The source of the debt and the exact figures were not disclosed in her remarks.
The creative leverage point
Fewer studios mean fewer buyers for creative work, Fonda said, weakening bargaining power for talent and unions. She described the industry as already suffering terribly. The merger would reduce the number of independent distribution channels, a structural shift she called terrible for the business. She acknowledged liking David Ellison personally, noting his company financed her seven-year Netflix series Grace and Frankie, but said the personal relationship does not change the economics.
The Ruffalo blacklist claim
Fonda defended Mark Ruffalo after Larry Ellison accused the actor of antisemitism over his opposition to the deal. She called the accusation a tactic to silence dissent and said Ruffalo exercised his constitutional rights. A growing movement opposes the merger, she added, and many people have publicly supported Ruffalo.
What she's watching next
Fonda said she hopes to return to acting in January with Lionsgate's The Correspondent, now in final pre-production, after five years away from the camera. She has other projects in development but declined to name them. The merger timeline remains uncertain, and regulatory scrutiny will determine whether the debt-driven logic she described holds up under review.