R.J. Cipriani Targets Paramount, David and Larry Ellison’s Trump Relationship in Amended Lawsuit

Las Vegas gambler and whistleblower RJ Cipriani escalated his dispute against Paramount Skydance president Jeff Shell on Tuesday, added the media giant and its board, the Ellisons and RedBird Capital Partners to his $150 million lawsuit.

Cipriani has accused Shell of failing to pay for crisis management services and claims that he also leaked non-public information about Paramount’s $7.7 billion media rights deal and previous plans to sweeten its offer for Warner Bros. Discovery. Shell’s lawyers proceeded to fire back on Monday, calling Cipriani’s claims “an utterly false tale” and countersuing over allegations of defamation and extortion.

But in a new amended complaint, Cipriani is now accusing the group of negligent supervision of Shell. It also states that President Donald Trump assured Larry Ellison that he would intervene in Netflix’s $83 billion deal for Warner Bros. Discovery, allegedly saying: “Larry, it looks like Netflix is gonna get Warner Bros., but if you really really want it, Larry, I’ll make sure you get it.”

Cipriani claims the disclosure is “direct evidence that Lawrence Ellison was personally engaged in Paramount’s most consequential corporate decisions at the highest levels, and was not merely a passive beneficial owner exercising control at arm’s length through the Board.”He also alleges that a $10 billion payment by Oracle and its co-investors to the Trump administration in the TikTok deal is a “quid pro quo” for Trump’s personal assurance that the administration would support and facilitate Paramount’s acquisition of WBD.

Other Paramount moves scrutinized by Cipriani include an agreement to distribute Brett Ratner’s “Rush Hour 4,” tapping Max Landis to work on a treatment for a feature adaptation of “G.I. Joe,” which is no longer moving forward; and casting Johnny Depp in “Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol.”

“President Trump’s personal intervention to direct the Ellisons’ business decisions regarding Rush Hour 4 is not an isolated incident,” Cipriani’s attorney Steven Aaronoff wrotes. “It constitutes the second documented instance — alongside Shell’s verbatim account of President Trump’s direct assurance to Lawrence Ellison regarding the WBD acquisition — of presidential-level direction of Ellison business decisions at Paramount.”

He added that the board of directors, under David Ellison’s leadership, “ratified and perpetuated this pattern.”

A Paramount spokesperson told TheWrap it is aware of the “frivolous lawsuit” and “believes the claims are entirely without merit.”

“There is no factual or legal basis for any claim against Paramount, its directors or its major shareholders, and the company intends to defend these allegations vigorously,” the spokesperson added.

Cipriani’s claims against Shell are currently being investigated by the outside law firm Gibson Dunn, as well as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Cipriani said in an X post that he spoke with lead investigator Nick Hanna on March 5 regarding the probe.

An individual familiar with the matter says it is unlikely that Shell would be aware of discussions between Trump and Larry Ellison, noting that the executive didn’t participate in negotiations with Warner Bros. Discovery.

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.

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.”

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