Paramount’s global president Jeff Shell has abruptly departed the network in, quite remarkable fashion, to “focus” on his ongoing litigation with a self-styled professional gambler.
Shell had served as president of Paramount and served on the company’s board.
The company confirmed in America yesterday that he had “elected to transition” after it reviewed allegations made in a recent lawsuit alleging Shell had violated certain securities disclosure rules.
Paramount found no evidence of such violation but said Shell had decided to step down.
Last month, Shell was sued for fraud by professional gambler R. J. Cipriani. Cipriani claimed he had provided Shell with 18 months of crisis communications services between 2024 and 2026 without any compensation.
In exchange for these services, Cipriani alleged that Shell said he would help him develop an English-language version of a Spanish show airing on Roku but had broken his promise.
Cipriani asserted in the lawsuit that he was now owed US$150 million (AU$212 million).
Cipriani also accused Shell of sharing non-public information and comments about Paramount’s partnership with the Ultimate Fighting Championship and proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, which his complaint argued violated federal securities rules.
“We’re paying way too much for Warner Bros,” Shell is said to have told Cipriani about the eventual $111 billion bid to acquire the company. “If we could just wait another year, we could get it a whole lot cheaper.”
Shell countersued, accusing Cipriani of defamation and extortion in what he called a “shakedown” for a “massive payday” for services he said he didn’t ask for.
Shell maintained that claims he had shared confidential information about Paramount’s UFC and Warner deals were false.
Ciprani’s suit has since grown, adding Paramount, CEO David Ellison and other company leadership to the list of defendants.
In a statement, Paramount said Shell “promptly notified” the business of the allegations in Ciprani’s suit and added Shell was taking “forceful legal aciton”.
Paramount also said that the accusations levelled at the company and its other board members were “frivolous and baseless”.
This isn’t the first time that Shell has left a major US network under a cloud.
In April 2023, he lost his job as CEO of NBCUniversal amid allegations of inappropriate conduct with a female CNBC reporter.
An internal investigation found he had engaged in an “inappropriate” relationship with an employee. The reporter had filed a complaint against Shell for sexual harassment and sex discrimination.
