Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, Executive Director of the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund and Steering Committee member of the Committee for the First Amendment, spoke about the threat to free speech and democracy posed by the proposed Paramount-Skydance acquisition of Warner Brothers Discovery, Inc in a documentary-style video released just ahead of the Warner Bros. Discovery shareholder meeting set for April 23, 2026.
The video was released by Senator Cory Booker, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights, who had previously invited Verheyden-Hilliard to testify at a spotlight hearing on the issue alongside actor and producer Mark Ruffalo, Senior Advisor for Democracy Defenders Action Katie Phang, Writers Guild of America East Legal Director Michael Isaac, and Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker David Borenstein.
In the video, the speakers warn of the dangers that such a consolidation would pose to free speech and creative expression in the United States:
“It is the antithesis of American Democracy.” – Mara Verheyden-Hilliard
You can find more details about the spotlight hearing, including clips from Ms. Verheyden-Hilliard’s full testimony, here.
Watch the full documentary-style video below: