President of Paramount steps down amid lawsuit

Jeff Shell, the president of Paramount and a former CEO of NBC

Universal, is stepping down from Paramount after becoming ensnared in a legal battle with a high-stakes gambler. Paramount said in a statement Wednesday that Shell "had elected to transition from" his positions as president and a member of the board "to focus on this lawsuit.”

“PSKY is grateful for Mr. Shell's many contributions and to have relied on him as a valued advisor," Paramount said in a statement. The company didn't immediately specify who would succeed Shell as president. Shell's departure caps weeks of simmering tension between Shell and R.

J. Cipriani, a professional gambler and corporate gadfly. Cipriani accused Shell of leaking confidential information about Paramount's business plans, and Shell framed the claims as a brazen shakedown attempt, resulting in dueling lawsuits that have riveted the entertainment industry for weeks. The filings from Shell and Cipriani threw an unflattering spotlight on Paramount as it attempts to consummate a roughly $111 billion merger with Warner Bros.

Discovery, a deal with the potential to reshape Hollywood. Paramount's handling of the fallout posed an early test of its corporate oversight as it prepares to become one of the largest media conglomerates in the world. And it raised questions about the decision to hire Shell by David Ellison, Paramount's CEO, who has never before led a public company.

After Shell alerted Paramount to Cipriani's claims, the company hired a senior partner at the law firm Gibson Dunn to investigate the claims, two people familiar with the matter said. Paramount said Wednesday that it had concluded Shell had not violated regulatory rules about disclosing confidential information. A spokesperson for Shell declined to comment.

The saga of Shell and Cipriani began in August 2024, when Patricia Glaser, a high-profile entertainment lawyer, arranged an in-person introduction for the two men at her offices in Los Angeles. The purpose of the meeting was to broker a detente between Shell and Cipriani, who had been spreading information about the media executive, according to Cipriani's lawsuit. Shell had been fired from his previous job, CEO of NBC

Universal, after an investigation into an inappropriate relationship with a CNBC journalist. But his career had been resuscitated at Paramount, where his industry experience was seen as a selling point for a management team led by Ellison. After the meeting, there was a thawing between the men, and Cipriani said he began offering Shell unpaid public relations advice sporadically over the next 18 months.

But the goodwill was ultimately short-lived. Tensions between Shell and Cipriani spilled into public in March, when Cipriani filed a lawsuit leveling accusations of impropriety against Shell and demanding compensation for 18 months of crisis communications services. The complaint included text exchanges between Cipriani and Shell discussing developments in the entertainment industry, including Paramount's deal to acquire rights to the Ultimate Fighting Championship and the company's negotiations with the creators of "

South Park" alongside conversations related to the attempted merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.

In return for his help, Shell had promised to develop a TV show memorializing Cipriani's mother, Regina, called "

Star Serenade," Cipriani said. "

This dispute was over the legacy of my mother Regina, the most beloved person I know," Cipriani said in a statement Wednesday after Shell's departure was announced. "'Star Serenade' was her legacy." The original version of the Spanish reality show, ”

Serenata de Las Estrellas," had been airing on Roku and was both co-created and executive produced by Cipriani, according to reports from The Hollywood Reporter. Shell fired back in court, claiming that Cipriani's lawsuit was a "shakedown" attempt, adding that he never agreed to develop "

Star Serenade."

He said in his filing that he immediately alerted Paramount to Cipriani's accusations, which he called a "slanderous and extortionate campaign." He called some of the exchanges in Cipriani's lawsuit "fabrications." Cipriani later added Paramount, CEO David Ellison and other company leadership to his suit.

Paramount on Wednesday maintained that it would "respond in the proceedings to the frivolous and baseless claims" made against the company and named board members. Information for this article was contributed by Benjamin Mullin and Lauren Hirsch of The New York Times and by staff writers of The Associated Press.