Ari Emanuel, CEO of TKO Group and former Endeavor chief, has publicly defended his friend and business associate David Ellison by attacking the state lawsuit seeking to block Paramount's proposed merger with Warner Bros. Discovery. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Emanuel argued that the antitrust action, led by California attorney general Rob Bonta and backed by a dozen states, would harm rather than protect competition, and warned it could damage Hollywood's economic and cultural standing.

Emanuel dismissed the case as "trash," arguing it overlooks fast-growing rivals such as Amazon MGM, A24, Lionsgate and Netflix, citing box-office successes including Amazon's "Project Hail Mary" (nearly $700 million worldwide) and Lionsgate's "Michael" (over $1 billion). He also argued theatrical films compete against streaming, gaming and online video for audience attention. The intervention follows Paramount's announcement last Friday that it would pause the Warner Bros. Discovery deal for several months while it fights the antitrust lawsuit, which alleges the combined company would hold an illegally dominant market share.