EXCLUSIVE: Paramount president Jeff Shell intends to fight back against a threatened lawsuit from a former longtime associate over the alleged misuse and disclosure of confidential corporate information by Shell.
“We were presented with a draft complaint riddled with clear errors of fact and law.”Shell’s lawyer Patricia Glaser told Deadline tonight as rumors of Shell and an internal investigation swirl around town. “We will strongly respond.”
The individual in question here is professional gambler and Cocaine Quarterback Amazon documentary participant Robert James “RJ” Cipriani, sources tell me. Deadline reached out to Cipriani for comment on the alleged suit, but did not receive a response.
After correspondence from Cipriani, Shell went to Paramount over the claims.
In the past few days, an internal investigation was launched at the David Ellison-owned studio. As a part of that, and following Paramount policy, law firm Gibson Dunn were brought on-board. Gibson Dunn litigation partner Nick Hanna, who was the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California in Donald Trump’s first term, is leading the on-going probe on behalf of the firm and Paramount.
Shell was ousted from his NBCUniversal CEO role in 2023 with cause after allegations of “inappropriate conduct” and “sexual harassment” of then CNBC anchor and correspondent Hadley Gamble.
As Shell retreated to handle the fallout with his family, other claims of inappropriate behavior by the exec proved to be unsubstantiated. In the summer of 2024, as then Skydance’s David Ellison’s acquisition of Paramount from Shari Redstone started moving towards an agreement, and months of regulatory sign-offs, Shell was earmarked for a top job at the studio.
He took over as company President in August 2025. Along with sitting on the Ellison chaired 11-person board, Shell’s Paramount duties are “overseeing the day-to-day operations of the Company’s media businesses under the strategic leadership of CEO David Ellison,” according to his official bio.
News of the potential suit against Shell and his preemptive response comes as Paramount is in the final hours of its weeklong engagement with Warner Bros Discovery over its $108 billion (and rising) hostile takeover bid for the David Zaslav-run company. Back in December, WBD accepted Netflix’s $83 billion bid for the company’s streaming and studio assets, but initial suitor Ellison, with Shell by his side, has made it clear in the courts, the corridors of power and with shareholders that he has no intention of backing off anytime soon.
