L.A. Mayoral Candidate Nithya Raman Says Legality of Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger “Should Be Decided in Court”

Los Angeles mayoral candidate Nithya Raman has reaffirmed her view that the legality of the proposed $111 billion Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery merger should be settled by the courts, backing California Attorney General Rob Bonta's antitrust lawsuit seeking to block the deal. Her comments, issued in a statement on Thursday, position her against Paramount's threat to leave California if the lawsuit is not dropped, which she described as an attempt to "strong-arm" the state. The intervention adds a political dimension to the ongoing dispute, as Raman is due to face incumbent Mayor Karen Bass in November's general election.

Raman cited a new county report estimating the merger would cost around 4,500 film and television jobs and more than 10,000 jobs region-wide, warning it would deepen an existing crisis in L.A.'s film industry. Her statement came the same day Bass held a press conference urging both sides to reach a swift resolution with enforceable guarantees to keep Paramount and Warner Bros. based in Los Angeles and protect jobs and production. Bass's call echoed similar appeals from Cinema United, the DGA and IATSE, and followed a report from the L.A. Department of Economic Opportunity and CVL Economics detailing the jobs at risk.