Actress and longtime activist Jane Fonda used a press appearance at the Venice Film Festival to voice strong opposition to the proposed Paramount-Warner Bros. merger, warning it would harm consumers, cost thousands of jobs, and weaken creatives' bargaining power in an already struggling entertainment industry. Speaking ahead of receiving an award at the DVF Awards charity gala hosted by Diane von Furstenberg, the 88-year-old also criticised the Ellison family's handling of the deal and accused tech billionaires of pursuing personal longevity while ignoring wider harm to society.

Fonda said she believes the merger can still be stopped, citing the heavy debt burden carried by the Ellisons and a growing movement against media consolidation, while noting the irony of also personally liking David Ellison, whose Skydance company backed her Netflix series "Grace and Frankie". She further alleged a Hollywood "blacklist" tactic, pointing to Larry Ellison's accusation of antisemitism against actor Mark Ruffalo over his stance on the merger, which she called unjustified given his constitutional right to free speech. Fonda also gave a career update, revealing her new film "The Correspondent" is in late pre-production with filming hoped to start in January, and expressed eagerness to return to acting after five years away.