Jeff Shell Out As Paramount President

EXCLUSIVE: For the second time in three years, Jeff Shell has been ousted from a top corporate perch.

Back in April 2023, the exec lost his job as NBCUniversal CEO amidst allegations of inappropriate conduct with a female CNBC reporter. Today, after weeks of claims about indiscretion and a multi-million legal back and forth, Shell is out as as the president of Paramount Skydance, I’ve learned.

How the fallout for Shell will play out is TBD, though don’t be surprised if his parachute is less than the usual production deal and/or advisor role. Framed to help Shell save face, I hear there is a big stink on the 60-year-old exec for the messy way things went down

Neither reps for Shell nor Paramount responded to request for comment from Deadline on the move.

The long anticipated pink-slipping comes as a report from law firm Gibson Dunn appears to have cleared Shell of claims by an attention seeking so-called pro-gambler that the executive shared confidential and potentially explosive information. The initial $150 million breach of contract and fraud complaint from Robert James “RJ” Cipriani against Shell and his wife, which has grown to include Paramount itself, CEO David Ellison, his Oracle founder father Larry Ellison and a swath of advisors, accused the now exiting Par president of gossiping about deals surrounding UFC, WBD and, more recently Donald Trump.

“We’re paying way too much for Warner Bros,” Shell is said to have told Cipriani of the eventual $111 billion buy of the iconic company over Netflix’s $89 billion bid for WB’s studio and streaming assets. “If we could just wait another year, we could get it a whole lot cheaper.”

Cipriani, who has already submitted a whistleblower filing with the S.E.C. over Shell and the $7.7 billion UFC deal, declares further details and more WBD tidbits were unveiled by the Paramount exec in a February 2 face-to-face meeting “at the offices of a prominent Los Angeles entertainment law firm” clearly A.K.A. GlaserWeil.

On March 16, the O’Melveny & Meyers-represented Jeff Shell and Laura Shell filed a counterclaim against Cipriani in L.A. Superior Court.

When it comes to Cipriani’s own amended complaint, that includes the Ellisons, Paramount brass and the Shells, on March 17, the company said: “Paramount 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.”