Of all the odd moments surrounding Thursday’s so-called “rally” outside Paramount’s famed Melrose Avenue gates in Hollywood, the clearest message may have come from the sky: an airplane banner taking a swipe at CEO David Ellison.
The event had been billed as a show of support by Neighbors for Strong Communities, an opaque pro-merger organization that critics believe may be tied to the Ellison family. Instead, it splintered into two competing, lightly attended press events that generated more confusion than momentum.
In the days before the gathering, Neighbors for Strong Communities sent text messages to California residents urging Attorney General Rob Bonta to settle his antitrust lawsuit challenging the deal and clear the way for the merger. But when reporters arrived Thursday morning near Paramount, organizers abruptly shifted the event to a nearby BLT Studios soundstage, saying they wanted to avoid a planned counter-demonstration.
The relocated press conference took place inside a low-lit studio with only a modest turnout. Roughly a dozen people connected to the Hollywood industry — including actors and below-the-line workers — spoke about fears that Ellison could move operations out of California, potentially costing local entertainment jobs. One attendee, Dani Kelly, who operates a podcast studio in Chatsworth, previously told P6H, “I need people in the industry here… I will have no business.”
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Roger Neal, a publicist representing the little-known group, told Page Six Hollywood the location was changed after organizers learned a “Block the Merger”-aligned group planned to protest at the same Paramount entrance about an hour later. Neighbors for Strong Communities has faced accusations that it is a Paramount-backed “astroturf” effort, though the group has denied any connection to Paramount or the Ellisons.
That group, called Free Press, which has nothing to do with the Bari Weiss-founded media company and everything to do with the Jane Fonda-backed Committee for the First Amendment, held their own rally featuring about 15 workers and supporters of Bonta’s efforts to block the merger. Speakers included actress and comedian Alyssa Phillips, and Burbank city council members Nikki Perez and Konstantine Anthony.
Free Press co-CEO Jessica Gonzalez told P6H that they planned their counter-event in response to hearing about the pro-merger group’s rally.
If all that wasn’t enough, a plane was circling high above Paramount all morning, flying a banner visible across wide swaths of LA with the words: “Ellison is Trump’s Bitch.” It quickly became the talk of the town as photos of the plane were shared among group chats and on social media.
If attendance at the events was any indication the takeaway was simple: fatigue in this whole thing may be setting in.